...or AU. Whichever works for me.

In regards to Shaka Smart:



It's free publicity to 1,629,521 people.

I bet Akron U is thrilled...whoever that is.

It's crazy to think, but a single tweet from 'Bron is probably worth more pub than our regionally televised Super Bowl commercials. Whatever it takes to keep Akron blipping on the nation's radar.

It's funny to see LeBron glomming on to someone else's celebrity.

FYI - I played baseball against Urban Meyer in 1982 (the epic McDonald vs. Ashtabula St Johns match up). We lost 22-2.

Man amongst boys (Meyer, not me).

Please tell me this was tongue in cheek.

Why do some of you get so bent out of shape when anyone refers to Akron U? That's where I went to school! AU is golden!! Just refer to the Periodic Table.

Haha not too many times I see the county where I live here go Bula

I feel it's disrespectful. Like calling Kareem Abdul Jabbar Lew Alcindor, yeah his name once was Lew, but it's not anymore.


Does this look like the place you went to when they called it Akron U?

I hate it when someone tries to shorten a name like The Artist Formerly Known As Prince.

When I went there it was refered to as Hill Top High.

No, it's like calling him Adbul Kareem Jabbar.

You realize that's marketing and not the name of the school right?

of course I do, but where do you think they got the idea from?

Curious when you went there. Because the "Name" of the school went something this...

Buchtel College
Metropolitan University of Akron
The University of Akron

Akron U, came from people who were too lazy, too ignorant or just plain didn't give a poop.

And the mentality where "Akron U" comes from, is what is offensive, the fact that people don't care enough to say the proper name.

You can't have it both ways. How is it disrespectful to emulate an official UA marketing program by referring to AU?

Seriously, what would you consider a respectful way to refer in casual conversation to "The University Of Akron" in an abbreviated manner that everyone you're talking to will understand? I've tried using "UA" and get mostly blank looks. I've tried using "U Akron" and get mostly puzzled looks.

Everyone gets "Akron U" and knows exactly what you mean.

I'm pretty good at deciphering between marketing and reality. If I need to buy bud light, I go to a store, I don't bungee off a bridge to get it.

Seriously?

Lew / Kareem example doesn't work for me. My first name is Kenneth, but I go by Mike. Many of my closest friends called me Ham. I sign my checks K. Michael ... We are talking nick names here, not name changes. I prefer Akron U ! Someone give me a cheer using "The University of Akron", one that would work. There are countless chants that could use Akron U. I guess one could just shorten it to Akron, but what's the dif? If it were disrespectful like CANT or Cowlumbus, those fans should be ofended.

Z-I...

Akron U is disrespectful because it diminishes the school. It throws it back as "Hilltop High" as previously mentioned, and it has never been the official name of the school.

The marketing campaign really doesn't take that big a leap Moving UA to Au (not AU) as the symbol for gold. Additionally the campaign says that UA is the "new gold standard". This is a way of saying "forget bout AU, its UA".

It's like you have a Ted in the office and everyone refers to him as Ted. Well his name is Tim, and you are disrespecting him by calling him Ted, but if you bring up Tim in coversation no-one knows who the H you are talking about. So what is the proper thing to do?

OSU fans do feel disrespected if you call them Ohio. Try it once in a while.

Second, UA is constantly used as a cheer.

No one here has a problem with just Akron, none have a problem with just UA or U Akron. It is Akron U and AU that is disrespectful.

The whole "Akron U" thing was probably legitimized back in the day when they okayed it to be included in the fight song lyrics. By the time they got around to changing it to "Akron True", the damage had been done. Perhaps?

P S !!!

I heard Arizona ripping us off with their "UA" chants during the tourney this past week. Oh, it made me soooo angry. They must have seen our game against Notre Dame.

Can we just start calling it "Akron"? Leave out the U. It better associates us with the city. You don't hear people calling Dayton "Dayton U" or Pitt "Pitt U".

No, but from the size of that cup Ill bet they make good milk shakes.

I don't usually correct people when they say Akron U... though honestly, I really don't hear it that often.
Count me in with the crowd who feel that it's not the name we should be worried about, it's the reputation.

The University of Akron prefers to be called that, therefore I broke myself of the habit of calling it Akron you-know-what. The U of Dayton is called ,almost universally, U D.

Just Akron will suffice when talking sports with sports fans. The problem comes when talking to non-sports fans, which I do on a regular basis. If I tell them I'm going to an Akron game, they don't know what Akron team I'm talking about (Oh, are you going to see the Aeros?).

If I say I'm going to the Akron U game, they get it. If I say I'm going to The University Of Akron game, they also get it. But people don't talk like that in casual conversation. They shorten and abbreviate formal terms into informal terms that are understood by all.

It's unfortunate that some people are so sensitized to the use of Akron U because they perceive it as a negative. It's almost like being around someone who as a young child was frightened by a big dog, and cringes every time someone mentions the word dog.

As far as I'm concerned (fill in the blank) U works as a casual conversation term for any university, whether the school's formal name is (fill in the blank) University or The University Of (fill in the blank).

Looks like the Golden Arches to me.

When I went, we called it:

Capital of West Virginia U.

FWIW I just polled 10 of my friends on facebook, and before you ask only four of them were in marching band. All of them are current students except two who recently graduated. Every single one said Akron U when typing the words to the fight song. That's the way it was originally written, there's a ABJ article on it somewhere, it's hanging up in Guzzetta Hall. I know the marching band still sings "Akron U." Some comments they had about the situation include:

- "OLD people call it that. Like people at my church who are alumni from YEARS ago. Why would that be a problem?"
- "Weren't the original words Akron U? Why would they try and change it?"
- "The website actually says "Akron true." They also changed "Zip goes the Zippers" to "Zip goes the Ziiiiiippppss." Those both sound stupid.
- "Wait, so it's bad to call it Akron U?"

I know, I've seen the guys on ohio.com using it as a kind of derogatory thing. I've also met at least 20 people including three in Chicago who called it Akron U and were rooting for us to beat Notre Dame. At least with the younger generation, no one really considers it a big deal.

I agree with this sentiment 100%.

Also, it's not like there is another University in Akron that is called "Akron University" and is a craphole that we don't want to be associated with. Thus, the OSU/OU correlation does not apply to the UA/AU conversation.

In my experience, locals and old people call it "Akron U". It doesn't really bother me. It sounds sort of stupid, but because most people from out of state just call it "Akron", who really cares?

Living just outside Columbus, I have to say I agree OSU fans take humbrage to being called "Ohio" but yet their fans do that dumb and contradictory O-H-I-O cheer. I am always quick to point out that they are spelling out the name of a school in Athens that wears green.

Here we go again! Frankly I love this "controversy".

Perhaps you could refer to us as the Zips. "I'm going to a Zips game." No way they can mistake that for something else.

When talking about the university (not sports) I always say UA. When talking about sports, I tend to say Zips. If people are too ignorant to figure out what I mean, they're not the kind of people I would want to be talking to anyway.

My favorite post on this subject was posted in one of the other recent threads regarding this topic. I forget who posted it, but it went something like, "Maybe... just maybe... we shouldn't care about this at all?"

File this one under along with threads about: 1) new arena potential and location, 2) OOC football and basketball scheduling, 3) upgrading conferences, and 4) firing iCoach. Even I tire of the latter.

What other exhausted topics am I forgetting?

this wasn't supposed to even be a topic on Akron U vs. U of A. I posted a tweet where Lebron mentioned our University to over 1.5 million people, however he wasnts to call it is fine with me as long as it has U/University and "Akron" in it.

LOL

I use Zips a lot when I'm talking with sports fans. I also know a lot of smart people who don't care about sports. They're ignorant about sports, but they're not ignorant people. I'll continue to use Akron U in conversations where it's appropriate. Next time one of these discussions starts on ZN.O, I'll refrain from posting and just laugh to myself about the tempest in a teapot. The use of Akron U is truly not as big a deal as some want to make it.

I'll take credit for that one.

I did'nt mean to beat a dead horse; I'm just fairly new to this site. Thanks to those who responded. Please don't be offended if I use Akron U. I mean no disrespect; I'm just an old fart. I will say that out here, in the corn fields, it doesn't make any difference what I use, Akron U, Zips, UA, AU, or spell it all out, no one knows who I'm talking about! When people were filling out their NCAA brackets, sports fans couldn't even tell you what state Akron was in! Sports anouncers couldn't even remember what conference we were in! What sports fan doesn't know where Butler or the Zags call home. As someone already stated, the Zips need to win. If we can consistantly become a thorn in the majors' back sides, I'll be happy. I don't care what they call us.

Seems like the perfect opportunity for me to tell my favorite story--how I played basketball against Joey Galloway in high school and blocked one of his shots...Of course, I usually leave out the part where he dunked on me. And I never talk about running the 200m against him where he coasted the last 100m looking back over his shoulder at the rest of us also-rans. (His scholarship to OSU was for track.) Dude was amazing.

are you from the valley?

Hometown = Adena. Wife from St. C. Went to Buckeye West, then Buckeye SouthWest after West burned down (Buckeye Local now).

beallsville here