Would you prefer “UF at Temple Terrace”?

Posted Nov 30, 2011 by Lindsay Peterson

Updated Dec 1, 2011 at 06:06 PM

A plan to clarify USF’s name by adding the tag “Tampa Bay” is coming in for some ridicule today.

“Does this mean the St Pete campus will be called USFTBSP?” asked one Tweeter.

Our first thought was, “Tampa Bay is not a place. It’s a body of water.”

But it’s needed, says USF spokeman Michael Hoad. “We have to get past the confusion people have when they read ‘South Florida.’ ” Also, it’s more of a tweak than a change.

In defense of the name, pre-tweak, USF WAS the southernmost state university when it was founded more than 50 years ago.

And the other suggestions weren’t exactly bell ringers:

“The University of the Western Hemisphere”?

“The University of Florida at Temple Terrace”?

So it became the University of South Florida. And now it’s north of four other state universities.

“This is not a push to change the official name of the university,” Hoad says. “But we want to be clear and accurate on where USF is located.”

So now, maybe Miami University, in OHIO, will follow USF’s lead and help us out with that one.