The Origin Of The Nittany Lion On Your Penn State Sweatshirt

By Author: Robin Hewitti
Total Articles: 739
Comment this article

The Nittany Lion leads many cheers during the Penn State football season, and adorns many a Penn State sweatshirt and other Penn State products as well. A never-aging centenarian who always brings a smile, you may be surprised to learn about his simple origins.

Mount Nittany is, of course, the geographical landmark of Penn State University. The lion, however, is a creation of Penn State alumni H.D. “Joe” Mason, who as a Penn State student admired Princeton’s Bengal tiger mascot during a 1904 visit to New Jersey. Not willing to be shown up by a competing school, he immediately invented the Nittany Lion as representative of his own alma mater.

As a student leader, Joe then took the lead in making his creation official through vigorous promotion, and in 1907 the first lion statues appeared on campus to advertise Penn State as the Home of the Nittany Lions. The tradition grew, and a visit to the Pattee Library on campus will give you a glimpse of a stuffed mountain lion that guarded the recreation building in 1920—the same year a costumed lion mascot first appeared at a Penn State ...
... football game, making the lion’s rightful position on Penn State sweatshirts a matter of destiny.

The class of 1940 raised money for a Nittany lion shrine to be placed between Beaver Stadium and the Recreation Building in a natural treed setting, and during the 1942 homecoming weekend sculptor Heinz Warnecke’s Nittany Lion was unveiled. An instant hit, the 13 ton shrine is one of the most visited tourist attractions in Pennsylvania, making the Nittany Lion known throughout the world.

In 1966 Sue Paterno had a brainstorm: she and a friend covered the lion with orange latex paint in order to draw interest in her husband’s upcoming game against Syracuse. While her stunt worked famously, when it was copied by Syracuse fans a few years later it was not a welcome sight: they used oil-based paint, which had to be sandblasted off the venerable lion. Thus was born the Penn State tradition of guarding the Nittany Lion during all homecoming weekends, a charge held by ROTC, alumni, Blue Band members, the Lion Ambassadors, and current students and faculty.

In conclusion, the next time you don your Penn State sweatshirt in anticipation of The Big Game, take a moment to ponder the Nittany Lion that adorns the front. He’s been a fan since the early 1900’s, and he has a noble place in Penn State history. While you contemplate the lion, give thanks for another bit of Penn State history that no longer exists: the original school colors were dark pink and black.

Robin Hewitt is a freelance writer working with McLanahan's Penn State Room to promote Penn State Sweatshirts and other Penn State products. Visit our website for more information on Penn State Tee Shirts.