“Sparty” is staying!

Castleton’s “Sparty” mascot will not change with the new merger creating Vermont State University.

Castleton University’s famed mascot “Sparty” received some good news today: He still has a job.

In a meeting on Monday, Vermont State University presidential candidate Greg Summers revealed that Castleton, along with Northern Vermont and Vermont Tech, will retain their respective mascots even after the 2023 merger.

The athletics mascot question was raised in a meeting of the Vermont State College System’s Board of Trustees on Saturday, VSC Chancellor Sophie Zdatny confirmed via email Monday afternoon. And the board signed off on the decision to keep all the mascots in their individual homes.

Castleton University will continue to utilize the Spartan.

“I was told that you all get to keep your athletic mascots,” Summers said during a meeting.

Dean of Students Dennis Proulx, along with others in the room, were pleasantly surprised.

“That is brand new to me,” Proulx interjected.

The room buzzed with excitement as meeting attendees heard the long-awaited answer to a question that’s been on the minds of many since the beginning of the transformation.

“There’s so much identity, and everyone refers to themselves on campus as being a Spartan…and we can share and express ourselves through that. So, to know that that’s going to continue on through this transformation, no matter what happens, is crucial and important,” said Student Government Association President Ryan Boeke.

Boeke said he believes that the mascot retention will make a lot of people happy, noting that keeping the Spartan has been a passionately expressed desire of students, faculty, and staff on several occasions, beginning with the first transformation town hall last Fall.

“I’m very thrilled this has happened, I’m very stoked,” he said.

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