By Brittany Burke

The newest mascot for Central Connecticut State University is no longer known just as Mr. Blue Devil. Victor E’s replacement mascot has officially been named, and can now be called Kizer the Blue Devil.

A contest, announced on Aug. 10, ran for three weeks and resulted in over 300 entries. With the help of a committee that included athletics department employees and student athletes, the name Kizer was chosen.

When hearing the name Kaiser, or “Kizer” as is spelt in reference to the CCSU Blue Devil, most students will automatically tell you the name is in reference to the building at the top of the hill that houses the athletics department, RECentral and Detrick Gymnasium.

However, there is a reason for the building and now symbol of Blue Devils athletics to be named Kaiser, and that reason is Harrison Kaiser, more commonly known as the “father of Central athletics.”

“We wanted [the name] to be emblematic and representative of our core values and what it means to be a Blue Devil … what it means to be a Blue Devil is dedication, commitment, competitiveness, hard work and compassion and I absolutely think Mr. Kaiser was representative of that and I think it’s neat to have this name be emblematic of all these generations,” said Athletics Director Paul Schlickmann.

Harrison J. Kaiser held many different titles in his time spent at CCSU. He was a tri-sport coach, taking the lead position in basketball, track and field and football from the years 1934-1962. Not only was he a coach, he became the first chairperson of the physical education department and was inducted into the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame while still working at CCSU in 1958. Fourteen years later, Harrison Kaiser was inducted into the CCSU hall of fame, cementing his legacy with the school forever.

Years after naming the athletics epicenter for him, on Sept. 3, 2011, the day the Blue Devils took on the Southern Connecticut State University Owls it was announced at half time that the representation of the new branding initiative would in fact also be named after Harrison Kaiser.

“He touched so many people and so many student athletes by virtue of all the different hats that he wore as the coach of multiple sports, as the athletics director, the guy was an institution here, which is why his name is on the building and with our current student athletes, and when you say Kaiser it resonates with everybody, said Schlickmann.

The name Kaiser combines CCSU’s history with its present and future. Spelling the mascot name differently gives him a modern twist, and according to Schlickmann, it was the way the name was submitted in the contest.

“Obviously we tweaked the actual spelling to give it a little twist,” said Schlickmann. “That’s how it was submitted, so that’s how it came and I think it’s appropriate. It gives it a little bit of a different twist but the meaning is still there.”

Schlickmann has already seen a positive reaction to Kizer. He has been to multiple events around the CCSU campus and many surrounding companies have requested his presence at their events, one being the New Britain Rockcats.

Kizer is just another way to carryout Schlickmann’s goals for the program, including instilling CCSU pride, the new branding initiative and increasing community involvement.

“I’m excited to take the next step with the whole branding initiative and the mascot and I think it’s been incredibly well received in general,” said Schlickmann. “I’ve gotten so many positive emails and notes and calls about people being excited about it and people in our family and alums and so forth and I’m really excited about the Blue Devil itself.”

Kizer can be seen around campus, and especially at home games for the CCSU Blue Devils.