Two iconic symbols of Penn State University and the phrase “We Are Penn State” are the subjects of today’s story in Susquehanna Footprints. The Nittany Lion, Old Main, and the words “We Are Penn State, have interesting origins.

The Nittany Lion is one of the most recognized figures in college sports. But how did it become the symbol and mascot for the university? According to University history, “On April 20, 1904, the Penn State nine was visiting Princeton for a baseball game. When freshman H. D. "Joe" Mason '07 was shown two Bengal tigers as an indication of the merciless treatment they would encounter, Joe responded with an instant fabrication of the Penn State Nittany Mountain Lion, who could overcome even Princeton's tiger.

"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?"

H. D. "Joe" Mason, a Penn State senior, in the March 1907 issue of a student publication.

The idea persisted over the years, and Penn State's athletic teams adopted the symbol. But confusion with the African Lion was common until the class of 1940 commissioned Heinz Warneke to sculpt the symbol as a class gift. Warneke worked under a tent on the Indiana Limestone at the site and on October 24, 1942, the shrine was dedicated and accepted by the College. It's now the most recognized symbol of Penn State world-wide.

Probably the most recognized building on the main campus in State College is Old Main. Some may not realize that today’s Old Main is not the original building. “Construction of the original Old Main building began in 1856, was halted by the Panic of 1857, and was eventually completed in 1862. In its earliest days, it provided housing for students and faculty alike and contained the chapel, dining facilities, library, classrooms, laboratories, museum, and student association rooms. For 70 years it served as the administrative center of the College but by the 1920s, serious structural faults in the building had caused the upper floors to be closed. In 1929 it was torn down and the limestone blocks reused in the construction of the new federal-revival style Old Main. Today the building is the symbol of the University for alumni and visitors. On the walls of the main lobby are the Land Grant Frescoes painted by Henry Varnum Poor, one of America's outstanding muralists.”

The phrase “We are Penn State” first dates back to the dark days of segregation in the south. The University says those words date “back to 1946, when the Nittany Lion football team made history for refusing to play in a game against then-segregated University of Miami. When told they must leave its Black players at home, the Penn State team instead voted to cancel the game.

“The following season, Penn State was invited to the Cotton Bowl but was again asked to leave the team's two Black athletes — Wally Triplett and Dennie Hoggard — at home. The Nittany Lions refused that request, with captain Steve Suhey reportedly saying, “We're Penn State,” indicating that they were a unified team. The full team ended up going to the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 1, 1948, in a matchup against Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. With Dallas still operating under Jim Crow laws at the time, it was a game that would become symbolic of desegregation in athletics. Triplett and Hoggard became the first African Americans ever to play in the Cotton Bowl.”

Fast forward to 1976: Penn State historian Lou Prato,” The words 'We Are Penn State" were cheered for the first time in Beaver Stadium in 1976 by cheerleaders determined to fire up fans.

“Inspired by the boisterous enthusiasm they saw from the fans of opposing teams while on the road, squad members were determined to bring that excitement back to their home field by creating a new cheer, eventually adding a pause (and a drum roll) between the words to solicit a call-and-response from the stands: "We are ... Penn State!" While the cheer took some time to catch on, the cheerleaders persevered season after season, and by 1981 it had become a permanent part of the games — and of the language of every Penn Stater”

Almost anywhere in the world, the phrase “We are” is completed by someone nearby. Case in point, on a trip out west several years ago, while wearing a Penn State Tee Shirt with the Penn State designation, along the rim of the Grand Canyon, some yelled, “We are..” and of course I completed the words, “Penn State.” Nothing more needed to be said.