MASCOT PROFILE
General Dunker
SUNY Sullivan
Share your support for your favorite mascot!
- Where are you from?
I live in campus housing - the EcoGreen Townhouses behind our athletics building, the Paul Gerry Fieldhouse. That's all in the town of Loch Sheldrake, in the scenic Catskill Mountains. - How many teams do you represent?
I am the hype man for 12 intercollegiate teams competing in basketball (our men are 4-time national champs), baseball, wrestling, women's volleyball, track & field, cross country, golf, and cheerleading. GO GENERALS... THIS IS OUR HOUSE!! - How were you chosen to be school mascot?
Sullivan County was named in honor of Major General John Sullivan, a Revolutionary War hero, and following that convention the college's sports teams were dubbed The Generals. Thus, I am the General. Season by season, SUNY Sullivan has established itself as a perennial competitor particularly in basketball, and so I have taken on the expanded stage name, General Dunker. - Do you have any friends that are mascots?
Not really. My "competitive nature" (so I've been told) keeps me from making many mascot friends in the collegiate sports world. But, I do go shopping at farmers markets on summer and autumn weekends with the mascot of the original Woodstock Festival posters. She is a dove and still resides in Bethel, the site of the 1969 fest - lovely woman; makes a wicked apple tart.
- What is your favorite campus event?
For the past three years, it's been the NJCAA Division III Men's Basketball National Championship Tournament! We'll be the host through 2016, and the tourney is an awesome weekend on campus! Great games and lots of visitors from all over the country. You can check it out at www.championships-sullivan.com. Other years my favorite event has got to be the Generals Jamboree, most definitely! It's part pep rally, part intramural sports night, and part campus party - goes on every year, and it is a blast! - What is your favorite New York State destination?
That's easy... Bethel Woods Center for the Arts! Not to take anything away from the natural beauty and activity options of the Catskills and the Hudson River, or our campus' close proximity to New York City. It's just that Woodstock happened right here, man. How cool is that?! And now, Bethel Woods, on the original Woodstock site, is one of the best concert venues in the country! Where else are you going to check out Brad Paisley, Cheech & Chong, and the New York Philharmonic all in the same summer? - What is your favorite Broadway play?
La Cage Aux Folles! But more recently I saw Avenue Q three times - it probably wouldn't surprise you to find out that mascots and puppets share a lot of the same social circles. - What do you consider the ideal fan?
Anyone who puts on the green and gold and comes through to show love for the Generals! Our students, faculty, staff, alumni, and fans ALWAYS pack the Paul Gerry Fieldhouse (aka THE BUNKER) on game nights, so we rock a serious home court advantage when it comes to hoops especially. Our baseball field, THE DIAMOND DIAMOND, is the same way. Come check out a game some time! - What’s it like to be a mascot?
For teams like we've got? It's AWESOME! Easy breezy, baby! Not to boast, but I get to do my thing in front of great fans, and under 4 national championship banners (don't even get me started on the divisional and regional banners). And most important of all, I'm proud of our student athletes! They don't just bring the fire at game time; they bring it to the classroom too - that's the thing I can get behind most of all! - What do you like to do for fun?
I play bass in a funk band. I also help maintain the SUNY Sullivan hops garden, called Hopstock.