WOKQ RELEASE

DOVER, N.H. – WOKQ 97.5 FM asked its listeners to choose New Hampshire's Best College Mascot last week and Southern New Hampshire University's Petey the Penmen earned a landslide decision by garnering just shy of 61 percent of the vote, the station announced Monday afternoon.

Petey officially won 60.98 percent of the vote, besting 14 other schools from the Granite State, including the University of New Hampshire (Wild E. Cat & Gnarlz), which placed second with 27.13 percent of the vote. Crosstown rival Saint Anselm College (Hammer the Hawk) finished a distant third with 3.92 percent of the vote. The NHTI Lynx (3.36%) and Plymouth State University Panthers (1.12%) rounded out the top five.

The Southern New Hampshire University “Penmen” was designed to evoke memories of the spirit of the hardy New England colonials. Since the university was founded as New Hampshire College of Accounting and Commerce, the quill, or pen used by colonial accountants, became the “staff” of the character.

The original design was created in 1969 by Union Leader editorial cartoonist Bob Murphy. The brawny physique of the original Penmen, with its muscular legs, arms and torso, was designed to represent the rugged character of the original New England settlers. It featured the character holding a basketball in one hand and a quill in another.

The look of the Penmen logo was redesigned in 2001 to coincide with the change from New Hampshire College to Southern New Hampshire University. The Penman figure today is a classic revolutionary war character charging forward holding an American flag. The flagstaff is in the form of a pen, in reference to the original nickname.