The Nittany Lion is the eastern mountain lion

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fi ...

of the athletic teams of the

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...

Penn State Nittany Lions The Penn State Nittany Lions are the athletic teams of Pennsylvania State University, except for the women's basketball team, known as the Lady Lions. The school colors are navy blue and white. The school mascot is the Nittany Lion. The interc ...

. Created in 1907, the "Nittany" forename refers to the local

Mount Nittany Mount Nittany is the common name for Nittany Mountain, a prominent geographic feature in Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States. The mountain is part of a ridge that separates Nittany Valley from Penns Valley, with the enclosed Sugar Valley be ...

, which overlooks the university.

History

The Nittany Lion is the

of the

—the athletic teams of the

, located in

University Park, Pennsylvania University Park (also referred to as Penn State University Park) is the name given to the Pennsylvania State University's main campus located in both State College and College Township, Pennsylvania, United States. The campus post office was ...

, USA. It is an eastern mountain lion, the "Nittany" forename referring to the local

, which overlooks the university. The mascot was the creation of Penn State senior H. D. "Joe" Mason in 1904. While on a trip to

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

, Mason had been embarrassed that Penn State did not have a mascot. Mason did not let that deter him: he fabricated the Nittany Lion on the spot and proclaimed that it would easily defeat the Princeton Bengal tiger. The Lion's primary means of attack against the Tiger would be its strong right arm, capable of slaying any foes (this is now traditionally exemplified through cumulative one-armed push-ups after the team scores a touchdown). Upon returning to campus, he set about making his invention a reality. In 1907, he wrote in the student publication ''The Lemon'':

Historicity

Eastern mountain lions had roamed on nearby Mount Nittany until the 1880s. The origin of the name "Mount Nittany" is obscure, the most commonly accepted explanation being that it is derived of Native American words (loosely pronounced as "''neet-a-nee''"), named after the subspecies of cougars that roamed the mountain, or "single mountain"—a protective barrier against the elements. The "original" Nittany Lion can be seen in the Penn State All-Sports Museum. It is the only known mounted eastern mountain lion. It was killed in Susquehanna County by Samuel Brush in 1856.''This Is Penn State, An Insider's Guide to the University Park Campus'', pg. 74 According to a July 1992 article in ''

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...

'' by Maurice Hornocker titled "Learning to Live with Mountain Lions", "Courthouse records from

Centre County Centre County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 158,172. Its county seat is Bellefonte. Centre County comprises the State College, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area. History The lands ...

, Pennsylvania, show that one local hunter killed 64 lions between 1820 and 1845. During those 25 years an estimated 600 cats were killed in that county alone."

Theme song

In the early 1920s, a song was created to honor the mascot. It is played during sporting events on campus entitled "

The Nittany Lion "The Nittany Lion" is a traditional fight song played by the Penn State Blue Band at football games and other sporting events. During the pre-game show of home football games at Beaver Stadium, it is part of the traditional Lion Fanfare and ...

". Many fans know this song as "Hail to the Lion," even though that is not technically the name of the song.

References

External links

Nittany Lion Mascots
* Esposito, Jackie R. and Steven L. Herb.

', Penn State Press, 2001 {{Big Ten Mascots Big Ten Conference mascots Penn State Nittany Lions Pennsylvania State University Fictional mountain lions

History

Historicity

Theme song

See also

References

External links