Oooh, I like the way CP refers to us as "Atlantic."

"That doesn't change if I'm at Nebraska or at Atlantic."

A lot of regional schools change their names to get away from the stigma and mixups that can happen being SE Louisiana State (or FAU/FIU) and I would be TOTALLY on board with a rebrand effort to be called Atlantic University! The Atlantic Blue Wave, where do I sign up?

TeamBeer said

I would be TOTALLY on board with a rebrand effort to be called Atlantic University!

I dunno about that but I would certainly like to see "FAU" on the score ticker instead of "Fla Atl", which just looks terrible.

Anyway, this inspired me to look up the story behind the idea for "the University of Florida at Boca Raton." Kinda interesting. Apparently it was a push by Broward County in 1989 to have their own university and essentially what they wanted is to be able to brag that they had a UF campus in the area:




Not only are state education officials being badgered unmercifully by Broward business groups and legislators with a Broward-based state university on their minds, but Broward`s Legislative Delegation has threatened to hold state university funds hostage until the county gets its very own college.

Chancellor Charles Reed, given the task of studying the need for such a college, has been asked by beleaguered education officials to consider three options:

– Merging FAU and FIU into one institution with three campuses, probably called the University of Southeast Florida;  (lol)

– Financing FIU and FAU for expansion of existing programs in Broward County;

– Building a 10th state university in Broward from scratch.

Meanwhile, however, the Southeast Florida Committee of the Board of Regents, meeting with other education officials last Friday in Gainesville, has had a brainstorm that may render Reed`s recommendations unnecessary. Their idea is to change the names of FAU and FIU to make it appear that Broward County has its own college.

True! In Boca Raton, FAU would become the University of Florida at Palm Beach/Broward. In Miami, FIU would become the somewhat more euphonious University of Florida at Miami.

Well, no. FAU and FIU wouldn`t actually become anything. They would remain what they are right now, which is independent from the University of Florida in Gainesville. But their names would change.

And would that be enough to appease Broward countians?

Former Fort Lauderdale Mayor Robert Dressler, who chairs the Southeast Florida Committee, thinks it might be. Putting Broward in the name of an existing university "is partially cosmetic," he said, "but sometimes appearance can become reality."

Besides, said Dressler, demonstrating once again the winsome charm for which he is so widely known, "Florida Atlantic University sounds like something you would see on a matchbook cover."  (…what?)

As a side note, SGA has been championing the phrase, "Always Proud. Always Florida Atlantic." (Sometimes just "Atlantic.")

Personally I love it, not sure if that's a take off another school. I hope not. That could be our "It feels great to be a Florida Gator."

TeamBeer said

Oooh, I like the way CP refers to us as "Atlantic."

"That doesn't change if I'm at Nebraska or at Atlantic."

A lot of regional schools change their names to get away from the stigma and mixups that can happen being SE Louisiana State (or FAU/FIU) and I would be TOTALLY on board with a rebrand effort to be called Atlantic University! The Atlantic Blue Wave, where do I sign up?

There is already a "Atlantic University" out there…. one of those non-profit graduate degree things…..so I would rather keep what we have instead of being compared to a Devry or Stayer or Phoenix university…..

We just gotta get the press to call us FAU - up here in Georgia it has been that way all week with headlines like "Can UGA stay hot vs. FAU". Pretty funny to mee - sadly! >:(

I read something, somewhere, sometime ago that there was a proposal to call FIU "Miami State University". That would be fine. Then there would only be one F_U. The confusion would be gone once the new name finally stuck. I don't know why it wasn't called that to begin with.

illinoisowl said

I read something, somewhere, sometime ago that there was a proposal to call FIU "Miami State University". That would be fine. Then there would only be one F_U. The confusion would be gone once the new name finally stuck. I don't know why it wasn't called that to begin with.

I thought that was great too. Not sure why they didn't go with it. Perhaps one of our FIU lurkers can enlighten us.