Traditions
Nittany Lion Legend
Penn State's athletic symbol, chosen by the student body in 1906, is the
mountain lion which once roamed central Pennsylvania. H.D. "Joe" Mason, a member
of the Class of 1907, conducted a one-man campaign to choose a school mascot
after seeing the Princeton tiger on a trip with the Penn State baseball team to
that New Jersey campus. A student publication sponsored the campaign to select a
mascot and Penn State is believed to be the first college to adopt the lion as a
mascot.
Since Penn State is located in the Nittany Valley at the foot of Mount
Nittany, the lion was designated as a Nittany Lion. In regional folklore,
Nittany (or Nita-Nee) was a valorous Indian princess in whose honor the Great
Spirit caused Mount Nittany to be formed. A later namesake, daughter of chief
O-Ko-Cho, who lived near the mouth of Penn's Creek, fell in love with Malachi
Boyer, a trader. The tearful maiden and her lost lover became legend and her
name was given to the stately mountain.
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Nittany Lion Shrine
Penn State's Nittany Lion shrine was dedicated on Oct. 24, 1942, during
Homecoming Weekend.
Animal sculptor Heinz Warneke and stonecutter Joseph Garatti molded a 13-ton
block of Indiana limestone into the most recognizable symbol of Penn State. The
shrine was chosen from six models submitted by Warneke.
The shrine is a gift of the Class of 1940 and rests in a natural setting of
trees near Recreation Building. The site was chosen because of its
accessibility, the surrounding trees and the fact that the sculpture would not
be dwarfed by nearby buildings.
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Blue and White
Penn State's student-athletes are instantly identified by their blue and
white uniforms - but those weren't the original school colors. A three-member
committee representing the sophomore, junior and senior classes was appointed in
October of 1887 to develop color options from which the student body would
select the school's official colors. Dark pink and black was the unanimous
choice of the student body after considering the color combinations presented by
the committee.
Soon many students and the baseball team were sporting pink and black striped
blazers and caps. However, problems arose when the pink faded to white after
several weeks of exposure to the sun. The students then opted for blue, rather
than black, and white. The official announcement of the new choice was made on
March 18, 1890.
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