Pennsylvania State University

The Pennsylvania State University (commonly referred to as Penn State or PSU) is a public, Flagship, state-related, Land-grant, Sea-grant, Space-grant, Sun-grant, research-intensive university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855, the university has a stated threefold mission of teaching, research, and public service. Its instructional mission includes undergraduate, graduate, professional and continuing education offered through resident instruction and online delivery. Its University Park campus, the flagship campus, lies within the Borough of State College and College Township. It has two law schools, Penn State Law, on the school's University Park campus, and Dickinson Law, located in Carlisle, 90 miles South of State College. The College of Medicine is located in Hershey. Penn State has another 19 commonwealth campuses and 5 special-mission campuses located across the state. Penn State has been labeled a candidate for being one of the "Public Ivies," a publicly funded university considered as providing a quality of education comparable to those of the Ivy League.

Nittany Lion

This article is about the Penn State mascot. For the Penn State fight song see "The Nittany Lion (song)".

The Nittany Lion is the mascot of Pennsylvania State University in University Park, Pennsylvania, USA and its athletic teams. It refers to the mountain lions that are thought to have once roamed Mount Nittany, a local landmark. 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 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:

Penn State Nittany Lions

The Penn State Nittany Lions (Lady Lions for women's basketball only) are the athletic teams of Pennsylvania State University. The school colors are blue and white. The school mascot is the Nittany Lion. The Intercollegiate Athletics Logo was commissioned in 1983.

Penn State participates in the NCAA Division I FBS and in the Big Ten Conference for most sports. Penn State is one of only 15 universities in the nation that plays Division I FBS football and Division I men's ice hockey. Two sports participate in different conferences because they are not sponsored by the Big Ten: men's volleyball in the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) and women's ice hockey in College Hockey America. The fencing teams operate as independents.

Penn State has finished in the top 25 in every NACDA Director's Cup final poll, a feat only matched by nine other institutions: Stanford, UCLA, USC, Florida, Ohio State, Texas, North Carolina, and Michigan. The NACDA Director's Cup is a list compiled by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics that charts institutions' overall success in college sports. Penn State's highest finish came in the 1998-1999 standings when the Nittany Lions finished 3rd. PSU finished in 5th place in the 2013-14 standings; it was the fifth time the program finished in the top 5 and the tenth time the program finished in the top 10.

Michigan Wolverines

The Michigan Wolverines comprise 27 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the NCAA's Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except women's water polo, which competes in the NCAA inter-divisional Collegiate Water Polo Association. Team colors are maize and blue, though these are different shades of "maize" and "blue" than those used by the university at large. The winged helmet is a recognized icon of Michigan Athletics.

In 11 of the past 20 years (through 2014–15), Michigan has finished in the top five of the NACDA Directors' Cup, a list compiled by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics that charts institutions' overall success in college sports. UM has finished in the top ten of the Directors' Cup standings in sixteen of the award's twenty-two seasons.

Conference affiliations

Championships

National team championships

As of July 2, 2014, the University of Michigan has won 36 NCAA team titles.

State

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