Evan Rogers

Penn State University is a prideful institution with a rich set of traditions, boasting the number one public university alumni network in the country. Penn Staters who have walked the halls of University Park or any of the branch campuses share in a collective identity. It’s important to know about our rich history and share in our deep-rooted traditions. However, many of the current and former students and faculty members may be unaware of the origins of these traditions.

Beaver stadium at University Park, with a capacity of 106,572, is the second largest stadium in the country, only behind Michigan State stadium in Ann Arbor. It’s capacity is the fourth biggest in the world. If anyone has ever had the privilege of attending a football game at Beaver stadium, they are bound to have heard the Fight On State Cheer that goes, “Victory we predict for thee. We’re ever true to you, dear old white and blue.”

What Penn Staters might not know, is that blue and white were not always the colors associated with Penn State. When Penn State was founded in 1855, Penn States colors were dark pink and black. It wasn’t until 1890 that blue and white were adopted as the official colors of Penn State.

Another point of pride at Penn State is the Nittany Lion Shrine at University Park. The first Nittany Lion emblem was made of paper màchè in 1910. It wasn’t until 1942 that Heinz Warneke started working on a 13-ton block of Indiana Limestone. Warneke worked for four months sculpting the limestone at University Park to give us the iconic symbol of Penn State pride that still stands today.

According to PennLive news, the Nittany Lion Shrine at University Park is the second most photographed attraction in all of Pennsylvania, only behind the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia.

Ten additional Nittany Lion Shrines were made in 1968 at one quarter of the size of the original and were placed around Penn State branch campuses, one of which was Abington.

As Penn Staters are bound to be familiar with the shrine, they may wonder what a Nittany Lion is. A Nittany Lion is nothing more than an eastern mountain lion.

The Nittany Lion name was coined by H.D. Mason, a student and athlete at Penn State. During a baseball game against Princeton in 1904, Mason saw Princeton’s tiger mascot, and Penn State lacking a mascot at the time said, “dignified, courageous, magnificent…Nittany Mountain Lion…fiercest beast of them all.”

“Nittany” was used to describe the mountain lions because of Mount Nittany right outside of University Park, where the lions roamed until the 1880s.

Penn State football games are also a prevalent place to hear the iconic “We Are Penn State” chant. Although the slogan is used as prideful comradery amongst Penn Staters today, it’s historical background dates to a football game on September 11, 1976 when cheerleaders first used the cheer.

However, the initial use of the slogan was used in 1946 by Penn State linebacker Steve Stuhey. During a scheduled football game against the segregated University of Miami, Penn State was told to leave its Black players at home. The Penn State team then took a vote on whether to cancel the game or not. They voted unanimously and the game was canceled.

The following season, the same issue arose, and another vote was going to be taken by the team. Stuhey stepped up and said there was no need for such a vote, followed by “We Are Penn State.” Although the slogan is rooted in anti-segregation, the slogan caught on to give a sense of community amongst Penn Staters.

The region, or valley which University Park resides in, is nicknamed Happy Valley, which Penn State has taken on as a nickname for the university.

Although there is dispute as to where the nickname derived, the most common explanation is from the time of the Great Depression in the 1930’s. Much of the valley did not endure the same hardships the rest of the nation was facing at the time. The reason was primarily due to Penn State University and its positive effects on the local economy, thus being nicknamed, Happy Valley.