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I originally thought as you, that "UIUC" was a recent appelation, but according to my link, the Champaign campus was named UIUC in 1935.
Several states have a "University of XXX" and a/n "XXX State", e.g. Michigan, Illinois, Oregon, Utah, Idaho, Montana as well as Colorado. Probably others as well.
The University of Colorado health science campus used to be called "UCHSC" for "University of Colorado Health Science Center". The Denver campus was "UCD", as you state, and the Colorado Springs campus "UCCS". The Boulder campus was always "CU", always meaning since I've lived here (1980). Some time while my daughter was in grad school at the HSC (2006-2009), the names were changed so that the Denver campus and the HSC were both UC Denver, no matter that the health sciences moved to Aurora around 2008. I think officially Boulder is "UC Boulder", but "CU" has hung on. Interestingly enough, the U of Nebraska is "NU", the U of Oklahoma "OU" and the U of Denver is "DU". Go figure.
I found an answer half way between us:
Nevertheless, although many University Officers and members of the press referred to Urbana- Champaign when discussing the Champaign County campus, the name “University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign was not formally codified until the 1960s.
How many schools are now in the erstwhile Big Ten?
I'm thinking it and the Big 12 should swap names now.
The Big Ten is at fourteen, so it wouldn't work.
My suggestion:
in the days of circuses, the largest venue on site was one that was inclusive in the number of different acts it held. It was the Big Tent. So the term "Big Tent" came also to be used for organizations that once covered a wide spectrum of people.
Mainly political parties and, back in the day, in a less polarized US, and strange as it might seem to us in 2018, both the Democrats and Republicans were considered Big Tent's.
So let's take the Big Ten which covers a lot of different cultures as it stretches from the across-the-Hudson outskirts of NYC to across-the-Missouri to the edge of the Great Plains.
So how about......THE BIG TENT CONFERENCE????????????
then again, that school in Lincoln gets to have its N and U both ways: NU, UNL
Quote:
Originally Posted by edsg25
I found an answer half way between us:
Nevertheless, although many University Officers and members of the press referred to Urbana- Champaign when discussing the Champaign County campus, the name “University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign was not formally codified until the 1960s.
Well, that was quite interesting. DH arrived there in 1970, I arrived in 1971 for a different guy, but that's another story. All the while both of us were there, until 1980, the main campus was generally just called "U of I" while the Chicago campus was called "Chicago Circle".
Well, that was quite interesting. DH arrived there in 1970, I arrived in 1971 for a different guy, but that's another story. All the while both of us were there, until 1980, the main campus was generally just called "U of I" while the Chicago campus was called "Chicago Circle".
Katrina, I can't confirm this, but my guess is that in the 1960's, very few flagship universities carries a city's name in heir own. Virtually all of them were strictly University of <Put state name here>
I believe that by the 1960s, the University of California had transformed into UC Berkeley. Of course, that was understandable. The state of California in the decade or so after WWII had decided to set up a three track system....UC's, CSU's, JUCO's....each operating at a different level. Obviously UC was at top and it was the only one that could have advanced degrees and do research.
So "UC" from the get go had a meaning that no other such system have or ever had. UC was a "thing". Thus all the universities were UC "something" and, quite frankly, around the time this was done, UC had something I don't think any other state had back then........Cal, the original school, with basically the same status as another UC, UCLA.
The post-WWII years, particularly starting in the late 50's was when the gigantic baby boomer generation was going to college. And universities expanded enrollment, new universities were formed and America, with the Depression and WWII behind it and in an era of its greatest efforts for equity.....built schools for those baby boomers and the returning GI's.
I have no doubt that UCLA was the first school to use that form of name. And from the moment it was named UCLA all the way up to today, it remains by far the best. I'll venture another guess here:
other states modeled their university growth, influenced by both the prestige of UCLA and the type of system that UC had formed. Unfortunately for most of the states, you ended getting a system where you had a flagship university that was iconic in-state.....and a bunch of universities that came across almost like "branches"....and arguably suffered by the naming system more than benefitting from it.
Of course, the flagships weren't too happy either. Having all those UW's out there didn't make Madison very happy, wanting to be the only UW. Their brand, they felt, was being "diluted"
And to make matters worse (and here I go back to my feeling that few universities carried city names in the 1960s), those city names were added on in the following decades, giving the flagship names they wouldn't want.
A few managed to keep their names without their cities tagged own though other schools in their system had city names. Bama is UA; the others are UAB and UAH. Mizzou had "at Columbia" tagged on...then had it deleted. Both Ann Arbor and Fayetteville operate without city names....the University of Michigan and the University of Arkansas....though both have branch campuses with city names.
And, as we noted, a number flagships with those city names do not brand themselves with such. Illinois and Wisconsin as already noted.
The point is for Illinois that until the 60s, according to your link, there was only one "U of I" and that was in Urbana-Champaign. In 1964 the Chicago campus came into being and as it grew, it needed to be differentiated from the campus in Urbana-Champaign.
I use USC when referring to Uni of South Carolina. I think that is common for people in the south. USC makes more sense for U of South Carolina because SC is the postal code for SC. Does anybody use SC to refer to southern California geographically.
Generally the context of the conversation will make clear which university is being discussed and they don't play each other in sports.
Anyone not living in South Carolina, knows USC as the University of Southern California. THAT's who owns the USC "name."
The point is for Illinois that until the 60s, according to your link, there was only one "U of I" and that was in Urbana-Champaign. In 1964 the Chicago campus came into being and as it grew, it needed to be differentiated from the campus in Urbana-Champaign.
Pretty much correct, with the med school being part of the university. Technically UIC can trace its heritage back to the end of WWII when the university served returning vets. With a two year tension att. Navy Pier (Champaign on the Rocks)
After the two years, it was necessary to transfer to Urbana,
But you’re definitely right: Urbana, Navy Pier and the med center were the same university, U of I.
Anyone not living in South Carolina, knows USC as the University of Southern California. THAT's who owns the USC "name."
I'm not sure how you know that.
I would think most people would know that there are more than 1 college that is called USC by some people. U of SC is the largest university in SC and also in a power 5 conference. It is also one of the oldest colleges in the country. It isn't an obscure school.
As I've pointed out, SC is the postal code for South Carolina, not southern California. Nearby state universities use state postal codes in their abbrevation, UNC, UGA, UVA, UMD, so USC for South Carolina is consistent.
If you type SC, everybody is going to think you are talking about South Carolina, not southern california. That's why USC makes more sense for U of SC rather than the USC in Los Angeles.
Last edited by ClemVegas; 07-26-2018 at 05:51 PM..
I would think most people would know that there are more than 1 college that is called USC by some people. U of SC is the largest university in SC and also in a power 5 conference. It is also one of the oldest colleges in the country. It isn't an obscure school.
As I've pointed out, SC is the postal code for South Carolina, not southern California. Nearby state universities use state postal codes in their abbrevation, UNC, UGA, UVA, UMD, so USC for South Carolina is consistent.
If you type SC, everybody is going to think you are talking about South Carolina, not southern california. That's why USC makes more sense for U of SC rather than the USC in Los Angeles.
I've never lived in either the South or California and it would NEVER occur to me to think of University of South Carolina if someone mentioned USC, the only school that comes to my mind is University of Southern California.
And fwiw, Google agrees. Type "USC" in the box, the top hits are all California, not Carolina.
I do agree there can be regional issues - I remember someone talking about having attended SMU and for the longest time, I thought she meant Southern Methodist. Turned out it was Southeastern Massachusetts. I didn't grow up in Mass, so maybe I would have gotten that association sooner, but I still think that the vast majority would be thinking Methodist when they heard it. (Not that it matters now, as the name has changed to UMass Dartmouth anyway)
IUPU Indianapolis is not its only campus. I think IUPU was created because more so than any state with two flagship universities, Indiana relly does seem to divide the curricula to a bigger degree than other states. IU gets the liberal arts and tech, agriculture goes to Purdue. Putting together IU and Purdue at those IUPU locations gave them a wider scope of curricula.
Purdue is unusual as being the only land granht school in a state with two flagships because it was a university from its inception, unlike Clemson, Texas A&M, Michigan State, and the rest of them which started life as colleges.
As for Purdue being the only state school whose name makes it sound private (I’m assuming you didn’t include Auburn or Clemson because they use their town names), I’d include others. Three in VA with W&M, James Madison, George Mason. In Ohio, I would say Miami.
I haven't read through this whole thread yet, so I'm sorry if I'm repeating, but IU and Purdue separated in FW earlier this month. The Mastodons are now of Purdue-Fort Wayne (PFW, rather than PUFW. Not sure I like that. Purdue-Northwest is the same, PNW). IUFW will also exist, and doesn't plan athletics at this point, I don't think, unlike IU Hoosiers, IU-South Bend Titans, etc.
As far as VA goes, is the University of Mary Washington public, or private?
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