| Nittany Lion | |
|---|---|
 | |
| University | Pennsylvania State University |
| Conference | Big Ten |
| Description | Nittany Lion |
| Origin of name | Mount Nittany inPennsylvania |
| First seen | 1904; 121 years ago (1904) |
| Website | gopsusports.com/nittany-lion |
TheNittany Lion is theeastern mountain lionmascot of the athletic teams of thePennsylvania State University, known as thePenn State Nittany Lions. Created in 1907, the "Nittany" forename refers to the localMount Nittany, which overlooks the university.
The mascot was the creation of Penn State senior H. D. "Joe" Mason in 1904. While on a trip toPrinceton University, 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.[1]
The Lion's primary means of attack against the Tiger would be its strong right arm, capable of slaying any foes, which 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 publicationThe Lemon:
Every college the world over of any consequence has a college emblem of some kind—all but The Pennsylvania State College...Why not select for ours the king of beasts—the Lion!! Dignified, courageous, magnificent, the Lion allegorically represents all that our College Spirit should be, so why not 'the Nittany Mountain Lion'? Why cannot State have a kingly, all-conquering Lion as the eternal sentinel?[2]
Eastern mountain lions had roamed on nearby Mount Nittany until the 1880s.[2] The name "Mount Nittany" derives from the Algonquian word meaning "single mountain."[3] The "original" Nittany Lion can be seen in the Penn State All-Sports Museum. It was killed inSusquehanna County by Samuel Brush in 1856.[4] According to a July 1992 article inNational Geographic by Maurice Hornocker titled "Learning to Live with Mountain Lions", "Courthouse records fromCentre County, 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."
In the early 1920s, a song was created to honor the mascot. Entitled "The Nittany Lion", it is played during sporting events on campus.
