State College Area School District Rebranding Effort Looks to Update Logo, Mascot and Motto

State College Area School District is considering a proposal that would update the district’s logo, establish a new motto and change the high school and middle school mascot name from “Little Lions” to simply “Lions,” among other rebranding efforts.

Maroon and gray would remain as the district’s colors, and the eight elementary school mascots and logos would remain unchanged.

The school board on Monday heard an overview of the proposal from members of the rebranding committee, which was formed during the 2024-25 school year to explore developing more consistent visual identity across the district. The committee has worked with Jostens’ branding team to conduct school community surveys and gathered feedback from high school student groups.

The district’s current primary logo was designed by a student in 1985, and over time other marks have been used as well, including the block S, varied lion imagery and a paw print.

“Currently, we have a lack of comprehensive guide to identify approved markings, fonts, colors and the appropriate use of our logos,” Jonathan Bucher, assistant superintendent for secondary education, said. “This work that we’re looking to do will give staff and community partners a consistent reference for branding our school district.”

The committee also found that survey respondents want a new lion design that is distinct from the Penn State Nittany Lion,

“We want it to be strong. We want it to be powerful, yet welcoming… not intimidating or mean,” State High Principal Laura Tobias said.

Survey results also showed a strong preference among students to adopt “Lions” as the secondary schools’ nicknames, eliminating “Little.”

“There was strong feedback showing strong support for removing the word ‘Little’ from ‘Little Lions,’” Tobias said. “When talking to students, they said, “We don’t like being called little. We’re not little. And when you’re in an athletic competition and you’re in a breakout, you don’t say ‘Go Little Lions.’ They usually say ‘Go State.’”

School board member Jesse Barlow said he has “always been puzzled” by the Little Lion mascott name.

“I can’t imagine why any district would want themselves called “Little” anything,” Barlow said. “I mean, even universities that have mascots like gophers and badgers don’t do that.”

Feedback from the branding survey also led to the development of “Honor the Pride,” as a proposed new slogan to replace “We are the Future.”

“The motto connects school pride with our shared identity,” Tobias said.

Barlow also said he appreciated the suggested new motto.

“For sports teams, ‘Honor the Pride’ makes a lot more sense than ‘We are the Future,’” he said. “So I really commend this effort, and I’m looking forward to the stuff I have with the current logo becoming collector’s items many years from now.”

The committee plans to work with the district’s art department to invite students and community members to submit original concepts for district logo, lion design and academic seal. Recommended artwork, along with a final new motto and mascot name change, would be presented to the board for final approval.

Board member Amy Bader asked whether there would be guidelines for AI usage in the design submissions, saying she prefers it not be used at all. Bucher said the committee will “lean on the art department’s guidance.”

“Original creations would be great,” Bucher said. “If you look at what we have now, I doubt our student 40 years ago used AI to create that. So that lasted quite some time.”

No timeline was provided for the rebranding process. Once a branding guide is finalized and approved, it would be implemented gradually over multiple years.

“Overall, one of the largest things we would look to do is, as life cycles of uniforms, turf fields, vehicles, wherever there might be a logo, phase those out when those life cycles were complete, and not replace everything all at once,” Bucher said.