OT: NU, nu?

Submitted by MDTCaptain on

The Huskers have been in the B10(1[2]) for less than a week, and I'm already confused.  In my mind:

NU = Northwestern University

UN-L = University of Nebraska - Lincoln

I've definitely seen those abbreviations plenty the last few days.  But then I started seeing NU, and then words like 'red' and 'ndamukong' in the same comment/article.  So, like a good MGoPerson, I did some googling.  It is officially, the University of Nebraska.  It is not Nebraska University.  (I was right - insert condescending laugh.)

Has anyone else noticed this?  How pissed would you be if people abbreviated University of Michigan as MU?

 

Update: Yep, it seems to be a Big 8 phenomenon (KU, OU, etc.).  Still makes me uneasy; what illogical thing will they do next?

MGoShoe

June 14th, 2010 at 8:46 AM ^

...the University of Oklahoma, OU and the University of Missouri, MU and the University of Colorado, CU.

It's a strange convention among the former Big 8 schools.  All five of the schools that are "University of X" (Nebraska, Oklahoma, Missouri, Colorado, Kansas) use the convention.  The others were "X State Univ" (Iowa State, Kansas State, Oklahoma State).

bouje

June 14th, 2010 at 9:21 AM ^

Has been NW since people began using compasses.  If anything NW should have been abbreviated that (or NWU) for a long time. 

 

(I know that you were making a joke but I'm sure that someone will bring up that argument).

Feat of Clay

June 14th, 2010 at 9:25 AM ^

Regardless of what it is "officially," it is one of the schools that goes by both.   Nebraskans would NOT be pissed to see it written "NU;" they see it that way all the time.  

Colorado and Kansas do the same.

So, to review: 

Indiana:  always IU, would be pissed to be called University of Indiana

Michigan:  aways University of Michigan, would be pissed to be called MU

Nebraska:  UN-L, NU, they don't care and they use both.  Bunch of easygoing plains folk, you'll never meet a nicer crowd.

Feat of Clay

June 14th, 2010 at 11:56 AM ^

Heh.   Good call.

Phillips University in Oklahoma went by "PU" and I once spent an excruciating afternoon manning a college fair booth adjacent to their representative.  She had a stuffed skunk on her table and would menace passersby with it, as a ploy to get their attention. 

This was as successful as you might imagine.  The University went bankrupt in 1998.  Here ends your higher ed trivia tidbit for the day.

Nothsa

June 14th, 2010 at 5:06 PM ^

I beg to differ!

The best thing about Purdue's name is that you can clip out a bumper sticker, rearrange the letters, and have: "Undue Purversity". Not spelled quite right I know, but hey, good enough for the dorm room bulletin board.

saveferris

June 14th, 2010 at 9:38 AM ^

How pissed would you be if people abbreviated University of Michigan as MU?

People do abbreviate U of M that way and it is annoying.  Of course, it's usually done on purpose by some rival or troll with the express purpose of pissing people off.

ADingwall

June 14th, 2010 at 10:48 AM ^

My wife, who is a Nebraska alum, says UN-L.  Prior to the integration of other schools such as The Municipal University of Omaha, which became the University of Nebraska-Omaha (UN-O) in 1968 and Kearney State University, which became the University of Nebraska-Kearney (UN-K) in 1991, the University of Nebraska was commonly referred to as NU. 

Now both abbreviations are commonly used.  Nothing frosted my late father in law more than integrating other colleges into the University of Nebraska system.  "Goddamnit! There's only one University of Nebraska and it's in Lincoln!", he used to tell me.

Natalie_Emcard

June 14th, 2010 at 11:15 AM ^

why don't we abbreviate them both with "W"... as in that's two Wins for us?

ps - while we're at it, how do we change the big 10 logo so that the number hidden in it isn't 11 but 12?

ChicagoB1GRed

June 15th, 2010 at 4:59 PM ^

they play for the NU name, that is a great idea but the purple is a nonstarter!

In deference to NW having seniority in the conference, "UNL" is perfectly acceptable to Nebraskans who themselves sometimes use it, though NU is preferred.

I already was "educated" on this board about U of M vs MU