WKU would rather not be referred to as Western Kentucky

[nashvillegoldenflash]

Media guide for C-USA just came in. WKU would rather not be referred to as Western Kentucky.

I really did not know this until today. According to the article below (click web address to view), WKU began its branding transition ten years ago in 2007. As an alum of WKU, I always thought "Western" was the term of endearment for WKU. Given WKU's NCAA Final Four and 23 NCAA Tournament appearances, along with its I-AA football national championship, I believe most people in the country recognize that Western Kentucky is a separate entity from the University of Kentucky. To not want to be called Western Kentucky just seems silly to me.

I understand the importance of branding but believe you can be over-sensitive regarding names. My other alma mater, Kent State is also called KSU or just Kent. I realize people outside of Ohio will first think of Kansas State before Kent State when they hear someone say "KSU" but that's alright. Kansas State is better known because it's in the Big 12 but the truth of the matter Kent State is bigger than Kansas State in terms of enrollment. Kent State has 30,167 students on the Kent campus and 40,782 total students compared to the 24,146 students at Kansas State's Manhattan campus. Sure, Kansas State fans want to believe the school in Kansas is "the real KSU," as one Wildcat fan stated on the Kent State board, but my response to his claim hopefully explains why Kansas State does not have exclusive rights to the acronym KSU.

"I know you believe that Kansas State University is the "real" KSU considering that reality is something that is shared by society (the Wildcat Nation) and created through social constructs by people within the same culture (Kansas State) with the same values (Big 12 athletics). But because reality is the collective consciousness of people who over time have developed a "shared illusion" of how things are (i.e., Kansas State is the real KSU), it is only relative to the society you belong to and not to society as a whole. To the people of the Flash Nation, Kent State is unequivocally the "real" KSU."

The same can be said about Western Kentucky and Kentucky. Just because the University of Kentucky has the word Kentucky in its name should not influence how WKU brands itself. Sure, UK is much better known than WKU but that doesn't mean that Western Kentucky University should not brand itself as Western Kentucky.

Thoughts?



http://wkuherald.com/news/wku-conti...cle_9a0d9d0c-439d-11e0-9009-00127992bc8b.html

 

[CyrusJS]

I personally do not mind Western Kentucky at all. It rolls off the tongue well, and WKU is four syllables alone. I think the big no-no that WKU hates is when ESPN etc. uses W. Kentucky, W. Kent., Western Kent., etc.

Western Kentucky doesn't fit on most sports graphics or scoreboards, so they would rather have WKU, which makes sense. Like I said, though. I agree in that Western Kentucky just sounds better. It has tradition to it. Those Western Kentucky throwback jerseys from last year were SICK.

 

[nashvillegoldenflash]

I appreciate your response.

 

[jason stamm]

I still refer to WKU as 'Western' among friends who went there and family and have heard them refer to it as nothing but 'Western,' too. But I get it. I remember when they first started that campaign. There are no other WKU schools out there, so it's all about branding and marketing. But it's weird to say they don't want to be called Western Kentucky. That's who they are.