General 11/16/2018 10:38:00 AM

Bright Spots: Conversations with Director of Athletics George Bright

ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. – After 100 days in the position of Director of Athletics, ECSUVikings.com sat down with AD George L. Bright to get his take on his first few months in office and his vision for Viking Athletics.

ECSUVikings.com: When you took the position at ECSU what were some of the things that you wanted to bring to this University?

AD Bright: "On our first official day on campus, my wife Sharon and I were humbled by the welcoming kindness of those within this University community. I quickly recognized that there was a strong desire from all stakeholders: faculty and staff, students, alumni and corporate sponsors, to bring stability and a championship culture back to Elizabeth City. Building that championship culture has been my goal since day one. It is clear that we have a great coaching staff here, and it is critical that my staff and I do everything we can to make sure they are as successful as possible. It is a blessing to be here with Chancellor Dixon - her vision of what the Department of Athletics and this University can become is transformational and breathtaking. My fellow Cabinet members continue to help Athletics to have the things we need to continue to build our championship culture and help us to achieve competitive academic and athletic excellence. A critical portion of building that championship culture is to grow relationships throughout the Department staff, the ECSU campus and our community throughout northeastern North Carolina. We have done this creatively in several ways, including Meet the AD events, feature stories, being visible to student athletes, radio interviews, the announcement of Coach Walker's return, engaging with corporate sponsors, our Community Connect Day, our Viking Madness basketball event as well as our Meet the Basketball Coaches event a few weeks ago at the Museum of the Albemarle. We will continue to do events like those in order to make connections with our stakeholders to be a part of the excitement. You know, most athletic departments fundraise but I like to focus on "friend-raising", with the goal of connecting with new friends and reconnecting with our old friends."

ECSUVikings.com: What has been your biggest challenge that you have faced since coming to ECSU?

AD Bright: "The Down East Viking Football Classic, an event structured to significantly help our athletic department financially, provide a quality experience for our stakeholders, as well as provide an economic boost to Rocky Mount. Without a doubt, canceling this year's edition of the Down East Viking Football Classic. Our staff here in athletics and throughout the University and our partners in Rocky Mount had done an extreme amount of work to make the 2018 DEVFC one of the best ever. However, when looking at the impending hurricane forecast and exhausting all intelligible data with the Emergency Management team, we knew that there was only one choice to make for the safety of our student-athletes, our fans, our staff, our friends in Rocky Mount and the Winston-Salem State community. It was the right decision.

We are actively working to establish an opportunity to connect with those fans and supporters. Make sure to stay tuned to ECSUVikings.com."

ECSUVikings.com: What should Viking fans be looking forward to in the next year?

AD Bright: "Simply put - a return to winning. Now, I cannot guarantee national championships, but I can tell you that no one will work harder than we will to raise the bar and get to the next level. We have a great coaching staff. Coach Anthony Jones is building a winning culture over at Roebuck Stadium and I cannot wait for next football season to see what his players will be able to accomplish on and off the field. Our volleyball team and Coach Vanessa Faircloth competed in the CIAA Tournament for the first time in several years. Coach Richard Harfst's women's tennis team had a strong performance at the HBCU National Championships in the fall. Coach Daphnie Johnson and John Westbrook, Jr. have had some great successes this fall with the men's and women's cross country team and the men's golf program.

On day one, the task was to hire a championship caliber men's basketball coach. Beyond a shadow of doubt, we chose the right person for that job in Shawn Walker. Our women's basketball team is experiencing dynamic growth under master tactician Coach Antonio O. Davis, he has turned around that program in one season and I am looking forward to what he will be able to accomplish.

Coach Megan Chapman has put in a lot of hard work to build the softball team and I am excited to see what the season brings. We also are looking forward to excellence from our bowling program as well from Coach Penny Eure, including hosting two bowling tournaments this upcoming season. We have the coaches and staff to do some amazing things. Viking fans get ready!"

ECSUVikings.com: With 100 days down, what goals do you have for the next 100 days?

AD Bright: "My goals include, (1) executing strategies that will positively impact the academic and athletic experience of our student athletes, (2) identifying resources and commitments for needed updates to our athletic facilities, (3) building excitement, momentum and anticipation for our athletic brand, programs and events and (4) implementing even more of a social / creative media presence.

We must tell the narrative of the great things that our student athletes continue to do in the classrooms and in the communities. We have terrific student-athletes, coaches and staff and for me it is important to make sure that their experience here at ECSU is one they will always remember."

ECSUVikings.com: Any final thoughts?

AD Bright: "I want to say thank you to our students, our supporters, our alumni, and our fans. I especially want to recognize and highly esteem those unsung heroes in facilities, enrollment management, campus safety, student affairs, in our ticket office, those in the mail room, our athletic trainers, our grounds crew, Chick-Fil-A staff, our bus drivers, our Campus Radio team at 89.9 WRVS, our DJ's, they work countless hours and take pride in what we do. Thank you so very much."

"I have had some great conversations about not only what we are doing right but also what we can improve. I take every of those conversations to heart and actively work to fix the things that need to be improved while working to highlight the things we are doing right. Please feel free to reach out to me at any time. We get better as an athletic department through open communications from our supporters and fans, what they see and experience regardless of it is good or bad. Alone we can do little, but together, we can build a championship culture here at ECSU and I am excited to work together towards a common vision. Viking Pride."

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