It’s a #RaidersRevolution.
Rutgers-Newark unveiled the new design for its campus mascot on Wednesday, debuting a redder, sleeker look for the fox known as the Scarlet Raider.
“We’re not calling it a rebrand, because it’s an evolution,” Kimberlee Williams, the campus’ director of communications, said at a news conference. “But here at Rutgers, we put an ‘R’ on everything. So we’re calling it a revolution.”
The new Scarlet Raider made its first public appearance at the event, emerging from behind a curtain. Waving a big red paw and waggling its giant foam head, the fox threw up a pair of bunny ears behind Jeffrey Robinson, Rutgers-Newark’s interim chancellor.
“That sassy fox,” Williams joked.
Raider the fox has fun as students from the Newark School of Fashion and design model clothes they designed at the Rutgers-Newark Campus Scarlet Raider Reveal press conference on the Newark Campus on Feb. 19.Ed Murray| For NJ Advance Media
Each of Rutgers University’s three campuses has its own mascot.
Rutgers-Newark was previously represented by the Scarlet Raider, much as the Scarlet Knight fights for Rutgers-New Brunswick and the Scarlet Raptor for Rutgers-Camden.
In 2017, Rutgers-Newark students were asked to vote on whether the Scarlet Raider should be a fox or a raccoon. The fox won.
“A fox symbolizes adaptability, intelligence, a fearless spirit and the ability to overcome obstacles,” Williams explained. “All qualities that reflect the determination of our students.”
The original iteration of the fox Raider was created by the university’s graphic design students, and first appeared at a basketball game in 2019. The original version of the fox was a scruffier, cuddlier creature, almost Pokémon-like with black-tipped ears and a baseball cap.
The previous version of the fox mascot was more cartoon-like. Ariel Batista takes a selfie with a mascot during Rutgers-Newark commencement at the Prudential Center in Newark last year.Ed Murray| For NJ Advance Media
The new version of the Raider was designed by Amy Skiles of Phoenix Design Works, a firm that specializes in designing collegiate mascots.
Williams told NJ Advance Media the campus chose to outsource the Raider’s fresh look to a professional designer because “we needed it to be Division III-level athletic quality, representing a national brand.”
The plan is to bring the student body in to help develop the mascot’s character and backstory throughout the year, Williams said.
“What is its personality? What is its major? What are its interests? What does it wear? How does it move? Does it dance? We want to personify it,” Williams said in a press release. “And that will involve a lot of student engagement.”
The university also partnered with Newark School of Fashion and Design, a local high school, to dream up a line of apparel featuring the new Raider.
The collection was designed by seven student volunteers who “invested their heart and soul” into the project for an entire school year, according to Principal Sakina Pitts.
“They’re a phenomenal group of creatives. They’re fashion influencers,” Pitts told NJ Advance Media. “They were consistent and worked together as a team. They wanted to make sure Rutgers was ecstatic about the design, and they were.”
The students — Maria Colodetti, Amanda Silva, Angelina Armijos, Daisy Fair, Ayesha Jawneh, Zy’mirah McDaniel and Khaye Robertson — modeled their designs at the news conference, walking an imaginary runway to show off plaid pajama pants and sweatshirts emblazoned with the redesigned Raider fox insignia.
The design of another garment, a Raider-themed shirt, was modeled after the crumbling marquee of the nearby Newark Paramount Theatre, an abandoned movie palace on Market Street with a storied history, Pitts said.
The limited-time Raider clothing collection will be available for students and fans to purchase via an online pop-up shop until March 7.
There are plans for more collaborations with Newark’s high schoolers down the line, according to Williams. The students also designed a series of outfits for the Raider mascot to wear to games, including a zoot suit and overalls.
Those outfits are expected to debut in the fall, Williams said.
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AJ McDougall may be reached at amcdougall@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on X at @oldmcdougall.
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