The Youngstown State athletic teams are know as the Penguins, and they have a penguin mascot, make that two penguins, named Pete and Penney. The football team plays in "Ice Castle." Before adopting the name the athletic teams were known as the "Locals."
One explanation for the name is that the basketball team was playing a game on January 30, 1933 and due to the cold temperature a spectator said the players looked like penguins as the stomped around and waved their arms.
Unrelated, but on the same night the basketball players agreed after a cold road trip that penguins was a good name. During the trip the players had to help push the team vehicles out of the snow on numerous occasions.
The student body agreed, without a vote, that penguins was the new nickname. The school formally introduced the name for the 1933-1934 basketball season.
YSU can proudly state that it is the only Division I school in the country with a penguin as its mascot.
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