Nittany Lion - wikipedia Nittany Lion This article is about the mascot. For the fight song, see The Nittany Lion ( song ). Nittany Lion The Nittany Lion mascot at the 2007 season opener University Pennsylvania State University Conference Big Ten Description Nittany Lion First seen 1904 The Nittany Lion is the mascot of Pennsylvania State University in University Park, Pennsylvania, USA and its athletic teams. There is a song played during sporting events on campus entitled `` The Nittany Lion. '' Fans know this song as Hail to the Lion, even though that is not technically the name of the song. The Nittany Lion mascot pumps up the crowd at the 2005 football game versus Cincinnati at Beaver Stadium. The mascot was the creation of Penn State senior H.D. `` Joe '' Mason in 1907 since the Nittany Lion is not a real animal. While on a 1904 trip to Princeton 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. 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 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 : `` 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 can not State have a kingly, all - conquering Lion as the eternal sentinel ? '' 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 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 as the only known mounted eastern mountain lion. It was killed in Susquehanna County by Samuel Brush in 1856. According to a July 1992 article in National Geographic by Maurice Hornocker titled `` Learning to Live with Mountain Lions '', `` Courthouse records from Centre 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. '' See also Nittany Lion Shrine References Jump up ^ `` Penn State : What is a Nittany Lion ? ''. Retrieved 27 March 2008. ^ Jump up to : Cronin, Brian ( May 20, 2012 ). `` The story of the Penn State Nittany Lion ''. Los Angeles Times. Jump up ^ This Is Penn State, An Insider 's Guide to the University Park Campus, pg. 74 External links Nittany Lion Mascots Esposito, Jackie R. and Steven L. Herb. The Nittany Lion, Penn State Press, 2001 ISBN 0 - 271 - 02115 - 2 The Pennsylvania State University Located in : State College, Pennsylvania Academics College of Agricultural Sciences College of Arts and Architecture Smeal College of Business College of Communications College of Earth and Mineral Sciences College of Education College of Engineering College of Health and Human Development College of Information Sciences and Technology College of the Liberal Arts Eberly College of Science Graduate School Schreyer Honors College School of Nursing School of International Affairs Dickinson Law Penn State Law Great Valley School of Graduate Professional Studies College of Medicine Pennsylvania College of Technology School of Hospitality Management Athletics Sports Penn State Nittany Lions Baseball Men 's Basketball Women 's Basketball Field Hockey Football Men 's Ice Hockey Women 's Ice Hockey Men 's Lacrosse Men 's Soccer Women 's Soccer Men 's Volleyball Women 's Volleyball Wrestling Facilities Beaver Stadium Bryce Jordan Center Golf Courses Pegula Ice Arena Penn State Ice Pavilion Medlar Field at Lubrano Park Rec Hall Rivalries Alabama Maryland Michigan State Minnesota Ohio State Pittsburgh Syracuse West Virginia Spirit Legion Of Blue Alma Mater Blue Band Fight On, State Nittany Lion ( mascot ) The Nittany Lion Buildings Academic buildings Berkey Creamery Old Main Palmer Museum of Art IST Building Radiation Science & Engineering Center Residence halls University libraries Campuses : Commonwealth Abington Altoona Berks Beaver Brandywine DuBois Erie ( Behrend College ) Fayette ( Eberly Campus ) Greater Allegheny Harrisburg ( Capital College ) Hazleton Lehigh Valley Mont Alto New Kensington Schuylkill Shenango University Park ( Main campus ) Wilkes - Barre Worthington Scranton York Campuses : Special Mission Dickinson Law Great Valley School of Graduate Professional Studies Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and College of Medicine Penn State Law World Campus Pennsylvania College of Technology Departments Cancer Institute Harold and Inge Marcus Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering Research Applied Research Laboratory Garfield Thomas Water Tunnel Penn State Lunar Lion Team Media The Daily Collegian Penn State Law Review Penn State University Press WKPS ( 90.7 FM ) WPSU ( 91.5 FM ) WPSU - TV Onward State People Alumni Athletic directors Coaches Faculty Olympians Presidents George W. Atherton Eric J. Barron ( current president ) Joe Paterno Fred Lewis Pattee Jerry Sandusky Graham Spanier Student life Army ROTC Air Force ROTC Penn State IFC / Panhellenic Dance Marathon ( THON ) Penn State Thespians Penn State Women 's Ice Hockey Club Penn State Glee Club Mount Nittany Nittany Lion Shrine Old Coaly State College Related articles History Joe Paterno statue Nittany Lion Shrine Child sex abuse scandal Death of Tim Piazza Penn State Nittany Lions football Venues Old Main lawn ( until 1891 ) Beaver Field ( 1892 -- 1908 ) New Beaver Field ( 1909 -- 1959 ) Beaver Stadium ( 1960 -- present ) Bowls & rivalries Bowl games Alabama Maryland Michigan State Minnesota Ohio State Pittsburgh Syracuse Temple West Virginia Culture & lore Nittany Lion `` Fight On, State '' Penn State Blue Band Uplifting Athletes Joe Paterno statue Something for Joey 1982 Nebraska game People Head coaches All - Americans Statistical leaders NFL draftees Seasons 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1984 1985 1986 2017 2018 National championship seasons in bold Penn State Nittany Lions basketball Venues Armory ( 1896 -- 1929 ) Rec Hall ( 1929 -- 1996 ) Bryce Jordan Center ( 1996 -- present ) Culture & lore Legion Of Blue Nittany Lion `` Fight On, State '' Penn State Blue Band People Head coaches Seasons 1896 -- 97 1897 -- 98 1898 -- 99 1899 -- 00 1900 -- 01 1901 -- 02 1902 -- 03 1903 -- 04 1904 -- 05 1905 -- 06 1906 -- 07 1907 -- 08 1908 -- 09 1909 -- 10 1910 -- 11 1911 -- 12 1912 -- 13 1913 -- 14 1914 -- 15 1915 -- 16 1916 -- 17 1917 -- 18 1918 -- 19 1919 -- 20 1920 -- 21 1921 -- 22 1922 -- 23 1923 -- 24 1924 -- 25 1925 -- 26 1926 -- 27 1927 -- 28 1928 -- 29 1929 -- 30 1930 -- 31 1931 -- 32 1932 -- 33 1933 -- 34 1934 -- 35 1935 -- 36 1936 -- 37 1937 -- 38 1938 -- 39 1939 -- 40 1940 -- 41 1941 -- 42 1942 -- 43 1943 -- 44 1944 -- 45 1945 -- 46 1946 -- 47 1947 -- 48 1948 -- 49 1949 -- 50 1950 -- 51 1951 -- 52 1952 -- 53 1953 -- 54 1954 -- 55 1955 -- 56 1956 -- 57 1957 -- 58 1958 -- 59 1959 -- 60 1960 -- 61 1961 -- 62 1962 -- 63 1963 -- 64 1964 -- 65 1965 -- 66 1966 -- 67 1967 -- 68 1968 -- 69 1969 -- 70 1970 -- 71 1971 -- 72 1972 -- 73 1973 -- 74 1974 -- 75 1975 -- 76 1976 -- 77 1977 -- 78 1978 -- 79 1979 -- 80 1980 -- 81 1981 -- 82 1982 -- 83 1983 -- 84 1984 -- 85 1985 -- 86 1986 -- 87 1987 -- 88 1988 -- 89 1989 -- 90 1990 -- 91 1991 -- 92 1992 -- 93 1993 -- 94 1994 -- 95 1995 -- 96 1996 -- 97 1997 -- 98 1998 -- 99 1999 -- 00 2000 -- 01 2001 -- 02 2002 -- 03 2003 -- 04 2004 -- 05 2005 -- 06 2006 -- 07 2007 -- 08 2008 -- 09 2009 -- 10 2010 -- 11 2011 -- 12 2012 -- 13 2013 -- 14 2014 -- 15 2015 -- 16 2016 -- 17 2017 -- 18 NCAA Final Four appearance in italics Mascots of the Big Ten Conference East Division No mascot ( Indiana ) Testudo ( Maryland ) No mascot ( Michigan ) Sparty ( Michigan State ) Brutus Buckeye ( Ohio State ) Nittany Lion ( Penn State ) Scarlet Knight ( Rutgers ) West Division No mascot ( Illinois ) Herky the Hawk ( Iowa ) Goldy Gopher ( Minnesota ) Herbie Husker / Lil ' Red ( Nebraska ) Willie the Wildcat ( Northwestern ) Boilermaker Special / Purdue Pete ( Purdue ) Bucky Badger ( Wisconsin ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nittany_Lion&oldid=813152757 '' Categories : Big Ten Conference mascots Penn State Nittany Lions Pennsylvania State University Fictional mountain lions Hidden categories : All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from April 2013 Talk About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 2 December 2017, at 02 : 56. 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Question: what is the definition of a nittany lion
Answer: the mascot of Pennsylvania State University in University Park, Pennsylvania, USA and its athletic teams