| Nittany Lion Shrine | |
|---|---|
 The Lion Shrine after renovation in 2014. | |
| Artist | Heinz Warneke |
| Year | October 24, 1942 |
| Type | Sculpture |
| Condition | Renovated |
| Location | University Park, Pennsylvania |
| Owner | Pennsylvania State University |
| Accession | October 24, 1942 |
| Website | www |
The Nittany Lion Shrine is a large mountain lion sculpture carved by Heinz Warneke located at the University Park campus of Pennsylvania State University.
The Nittany Lion Shrine at Pennsylvania State University was dedicated on October 24, 1942 during homecoming. Animalier Heinz Warneke and stonecutter Joseph Garatti created it from a 13-ton block of Indiana Limestone. The shrine was chosen from six models submitted by Warneke.
The shrine is a gift of the class of 1940 and rests in a natural setting of trees near Recreation Building. [1]
In 2013, the shrine was renovated to improve the lighting, add a sidewalk, and add large decorative stones. The improvement was the gift by the Penn State's class of 2012. [2]
In 1966, Sue Paterno, wife of football Coach Joe Paterno, and a friend secretly splashed water-soluble orange paint on the Nittany Lion Shrine the week of the Syracuse game. On November 2, 1966, six Syracuse students drove from Syracuse to State College with an old, air-loaded fire extinguisher filled with orange paint. Arriving on the Penn State campus, they found the Nittany Lion statue flood lit, deserted, and completely clean. Within minutes they painted the lion, jumped back in their car, and drove away from campus undetected.
On the way out of town, they spotted a sign for Beaver Stadium, and turned into the parking lot there, prepared to paint the field's goal posts orange as well. Stadium police guarding ABC television equipment for the Saturday game broadcast switched on the stadium lights and raced towards the end zone where the students were located. As the students fled, one of them became tangled climbing over the five-foot high chain-link fence surrounding the field. He was taken into custody by the police, and released the following morning. The students were subsequently brought before Syracuse University's student court, but the case was dismissed as a simple college prank. The Daily Orange published an editorial lauding the students and helped organize a fund of student donations to pay for the sandblasting required to remove the paint from the Nittany Lion statue, a task which was completed by game-time on November 5. [3]
This prank reignited a tradition that had become dormant among eastern football schools' rivalries. Attempts at similar pranks were then repeated many times in subsequent years. [4] In 1978, the Lion Shrine was vandalized when a blunt object was used to break off the statue's right ear. The original sculptor, Heinz Warneke, was alive at the time and, with some difficulty, was able to match the stone and repair the damaged ear. This incident led to the site being guarded during home football games. [5] The right ear was vandalized again in 1997.
In 2003 and 2018, the Lion Shrine's ear was broken off again, but it was unclear whether or not it was from vandalism. [6]
Almost every one of the Pennsylvania State University Commonwealth campuses has a replica of the Nittany Lion Shrine. This gallery contains pictures from several campuses throughout Pennsylvania.
Joseph Vincent Paterno, sometimes referred to as JoePa, was an American college football player, athletic director, and coach. He was the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions from 1966 to 2011. With 409 victories, Paterno is the most victorious coach in NCAA FBS history. He recorded his 409th victory on October 29, 2011; his career ended with his dismissal from the team on November 9, 2011, as a result of the Penn State child sex abuse scandal. He died 74 days later, of complications from lung cancer.
Beaver Stadium is a college football stadium on the campus of Pennsylvania State University in Penn State University Park. It has been home to the Penn State Nittany Lions football of the Big Ten Conference since 1960, though some parts of the stadium date back to 1909. It was also the site of university commencements until 1984. The stadium, as well as its predecessors, is named after James A. Beaver (1837–1914), a governor of Pennsylvania (1887–91), president of the university's board of trustees, and native of nearby Millerstown. Officially, the stadium is part of the municipality known as College Township, Pennsylvania, although it has a University Park address.
Penn State University Park, also referred to as University Park, is the main campus of Pennsylvania State University, located in both State College and College Township, both in Centre County, Pennsylvania. The campus post office was designated "University Park, Pennsylvania" in 1953 by Penn State president Milton Eisenhower, after what was then Pennsylvania State College was upgraded to university status.
The Battle for the Land Grant is an American college football rivalry between the Michigan State Spartans and Penn State Nittany Lions. The Land Grant Trophy is presented to the winner of the game. Penn State leads 18–10 since joining the Big Ten. Penn State leads the series 19–18–1, with Penn State winning the most recent matchup in 2023.
The Penn State Nittany Lions team represents the Pennsylvania State University in college football. The Nittany Lions compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Big Ten Conference, which they joined in 1993 after playing as an Independent from 1892 to 1992.
The 1986 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University as an independent during the 1986 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by 21st-year head coach Joe Paterno, the Nittany Lions compiled a record of 12–0. Penn State defeated the Miami Hurricanes, 14–10, in the 1987 Fiesta Bowl to win Paterno's second consensus national championship. The team was named national champion by AP, Billingsley, FB News, FW, Matthews, NCF, NFF, Sporting News, UPI, and USA/CNN, while named co-champion by FACT, Sagarin (ELO-Chess).
The 1982 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented Pennsylvania State University during the 1982 NCAA Division I-A football season. Penn State defeated the Georgia Bulldogs, 27–23, in the Sugar Bowl to win Joe Paterno's first consensus national championship. The team was selected national champion by AP, Billingsley, DeVold, Dunkel, FACT, FB News, Football Research, FW, Litkenhous, Matthews, NCF, NFF, The New York Times, Poling, Sagarin, Sagarin (ELO-Chess), Sporting News, UPI/coaches, and USA/CNN, while named co-champion by Helms.
The 1993 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 1993 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Joe Paterno and played its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania. This was Penn State's first season as a member of the Big Ten Conference.
The 1995 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 1995 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Joe Paterno and played its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.
The 1985 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 1985 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Joe Paterno and played its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.
The 1989 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 1989 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Joe Paterno and played its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.
The Penn State–Pittsburgh football rivalry is a long-standing American college football rivalry between the Penn State Nittany Lions and Pittsburgh Panthers. The game played in 2019 was the 100th edition of the rivalry game. Penn State has not played more games against any other opponent, whereas Pitt has only played more against West Virginia University. After the rivalry resumed in 2016, it was branded "The Keystone Classic" with Peoples Natural Gas as its corporate sponsor. A four-game series between Pitt and Penn State ended in 2019 and there is no future game planned.
The 1923 Rose Bowl, played on January 1, 1923, was an American Football bowl game. It was the 9th Rose Bowl Game. The USC Trojans defeated the Penn State Nittany Lions 14–3. Leo Calland, a USC guard, was named the Rose Bowl Player of the Game when the award was created in 1953 and selections were made retroactively. It was the first bowl game appearance for both the University of Southern California and Pennsylvania State University football teams. It was also the first Tournament of Roses football game held in the newly constructed Rose Bowl Stadium, although other games had been played in it prior to this one.
The Penn State–Syracuse football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Penn State Nittany Lions and Syracuse Orange. Penn State leads the series 43–23–5.
The 2010 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Joe Paterno and played its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania. They were members of the Big Ten Conference. Team captains for the season were wide receiver Brett Brackett and defensive tackle Ollie Ogbu.
The 2011 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Joe Paterno for the first nine games until he was fired in the wake of the Penn State sex abuse scandal, with defensive coordinator Tom Bradley taking over as interim head coach for the remainder of the season. The team played its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania, US. They were members of the Big Ten Conference in the newly formed Leaders Division. They finished the season 9–4, 6–2 in the Leaders Division to be co–division champions with Wisconsin. Due to their head-to-head loss to Wisconsin, they did not represent the division in the inaugural Big Ten Championship Game. They were invited to the TicketCity Bowl where they lost to Houston 14–30.
Heinz Warneke was an American sculptor best remembered as an animalier; his role in the direct carving movement "assured him a place in the annals of 20th-century American sculpture". In 1935 Heinz received the Widener Gold Medal for his sculpture Wild Boars.
Joe Paterno is a bronze sculpture of Joe Paterno, former head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions football team. It was located on the northeast side of Beaver Stadium on the campus of the Pennsylvania State University in State College, Pennsylvania until it was removed in 2012 in the aftermath of the Penn State child sex abuse scandal.
The 1974 Orange Bowl was the fortieth edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, on Tuesday, January 1. The final game of the 1973–74 bowl season, it matched the sixth-ranked independent Penn State Nittany Lions and the #13 LSU Tigers of the Southeastern Conference (SEC).
Nittany Lion Inn is a hotel located on the campus of Pennsylvania State University in State College, Pennsylvania. Built by Consolidated Hotel Service Inc., the Nittany Lion Inn and was opened in 1931. Its location near the Nittany Lion Shrine and Rec Hall. The location is temporarily closed due to renovations.