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Post by JG Panthers on Mar 22, 2022 11:27:41 GMT -6
The merger of the UW system with the old Wisconsin State University system was 50+ years ago. There's no excuse for any news organization in Wisconsin not to refer to the Universities in the system by their proper names: UW-Madison, UW-Milwaukee, UW-Superior, UW-Oshkosh, etc. Athletics branding is a different question. UW-Madison was the only UW school for more than 100 years, so the athletics programs were and are the Wisconsin Badgers. And as long as the university is properly identified, they can continue to call their athletics programs that. In the same way, the athletics department here in Milwaukee should be politely but firmly insisting that local news organizations refer to the athletics teams as the Milwaukee Panthers. Yes. Local headlines in Madison (or Milwaukee for that matter) never shy away from "Wisconsin Football" or "Wisconsin men's basketball". For us, it's always UWM or UW-Milwaukee. That should only be used when referencing the university academically. Athletically, we should be exclusively referred to as Milwaukee. I don't understand why it's so difficult for the JS.
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Post by PantherU on Mar 22, 2022 16:30:16 GMT -6
The merger of the UW system with the old Wisconsin State University system was 50+ years ago. There's no excuse for any news organization in Wisconsin not to refer to the Universities in the system by their proper names: UW-Madison, UW-Milwaukee, UW-Superior, UW-Oshkosh, etc. Athletics branding is a different question. UW-Madison was the only UW school for more than 100 years, so the athletics programs were and are the Wisconsin Badgers. And as long as the university is properly identified, they can continue to call their athletics programs that. In the same way, the athletics department here in Milwaukee should be politely but firmly insisting that local news organizations refer to the athletics teams as the Milwaukee Panthers. Yes. Local headlines in Madison (or Milwaukee for that matter) never shy away from "Wisconsin Football" or "Wisconsin men's basketball". For us, it's always UWM or UW-Milwaukee. That should only be used when referencing the university academically. Athletically, we should be exclusively referred to as Milwaukee. I don't understand why it's so difficult for the JS. Wisconsin can only mean the Badgers. This is what I mean when I say we need a secondary brand to use locally. Using UWM begets UW-Milwaukee, which begets Wisconsin-Milwaukee, which brings us to the nightmares of the Name Confusion Log. UMil. I'm trying to locate the logo. It was a good frickin logo.
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Post by PantherU on Mar 22, 2022 16:48:20 GMT -6
In case anyone thinks a name change - even if it's a rebrand - isn't important, here are the comments from a lot of people on a Change.org petition to rename the school to Wisconsin State University. Look how many of them were redirecting the petition to the University of Milwaukee. Honestly, branding is incredibly important. There are thousands of universities in the U.S. College athletics is a marketing tool for many of them. But there are only 357 schools in Division I. And branding matters. If it didn't, the Badgers would take no issue with UW-Madison showing up on a marquee.
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Post by Pounce Needs Pals on Mar 22, 2022 19:56:51 GMT -6
We are the Milwaukee Panthers. ESPN recognizes us as such, and that’s all that matters to me. We don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Just keep being consistent. Keep up with the Milwaukee Panthers, and next time we are in the national spotlight, the name will stick. . Same with CBS and FOX
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Post by buppie05 on Mar 22, 2022 20:02:49 GMT -6
In case anyone thinks a name change - even if it's a rebrand - isn't important, here are the comments from a lot of people on a Change.org petition to rename the school to Wisconsin State University. Look how many of them were redirecting the petition to the University of Milwaukee. Honestly, branding is incredibly important. There are thousands of universities in the U.S. College athletics is a marketing tool for many of them. But there are only 357 schools in Division I. And branding matters. If it didn't, the Badgers would take no issue with UW-Madison showing up on a marquee. Branding is incredibly important. I think we are already on the right path. We just need to stick with Milwaukee Panthers for sports. If we can get media to follow along, great. I think that most media that is relevant (ESPN) already follows suit.
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Post by skrapheap on Mar 22, 2022 20:10:22 GMT -6
Wisconsin State University would be more fitting than the University of Milwaukee, unless the city or the county pried the university away from the state. In the majority of cases, University of (City Name) implies the university is controlled by a local entity rather than the state. Frequently the University of (City Name) is a private rather than public entity: e.g University of Chicago, University of Evansville, University of Southern California, University of Seattle.
Milwaukee would have been Wisconsin State University Milwaukee if not for the merger in 1956. The institution was called Wisconsin State College Milwaukee in 1956. The other institutions in the same system were all called Wisconsin State Colleges and subsequently became Wisconsin State Universities in the late 50s and early 60s.
Yeah, I'm old. Get off my lawn.
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Post by Cactus Panther on Mar 22, 2022 20:41:06 GMT -6
MIL-WAUK-EE! (Clap) MIL-WAUK-EE! (Clap) MIL-WAUK-EE! (Clap).
This chant, when there are a lot of energized fans in the stands, is iconic.
Yes, branding is very important. I do not know of anyone who disagrees with that. Our sports branding is not broke. There just has not been much opportunity to capitalize on it lately. That can, and would change, with success. There is no need to fix what is not broke.
We have not even broached the subject of cost to change signage, documents, letterheads, etc. I know from what I have seen in the corporate world it is A LOT more expensive than one would think. Is that how a public university that is bleeding money because of declining enrollment and other factors wants to spend it's precious money?
I used to be for an institutional change when this was a hot topic years ago. I am not now. I think all of our current focus should be on addressing fan apathy and supporting the Lundy regime.
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Post by PantherU on Mar 22, 2022 23:31:27 GMT -6
Wisconsin State University would be more fitting than the University of Milwaukee, unless the city or the county pried the university away from the state. Let's look at a list of universities and you tell me which group fits our alma mater better (the whole university, not just athletics): Group A - Minnesota State (Mankato) - North Dakota State - South Dakota State - Iowa State - Indiana State - Illinois State - Penn State - Ohio State - Michigan State Group B - University of Chicago - University of Cincinnati - University of Louisville - University of Pittsburgh - University of Memphis - University of Miami - University of Houston - University of Akron - University of Tulsa Madison is a city that has always and will always exist to support the university. Milwaukee is a university that has always and will always exist to support the city. Milwaukee must be first and foremost in our name. Our mission is to provide an accessible and substantial education to people who can't afford the fancy private school. In the majority of cases, University of (City Name) implies the university is controlled by a local entity rather than the state. Frequently the University of (City Name) is a private rather than public entity: e.g University of Chicago, University of Evansville, University of Southern California, University of Seattle. Southern California is a city? Cincinnati, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Memphis, Houston, Akron, Toledo, these are all public universities. Of the public schools named University of City, every one of them still receives state funding. I would argue that either name would increase the pressure to fund the university on a higher level, as Wisconsin State University or the University of Milwaukee are both substantial, but the University of Milwaukee is a far better match for our status as a public urban doctoral R1 research university. Milwaukee would have been Wisconsin State University Milwaukee if not for the merger in 1956. The institution was called Wisconsin State College Milwaukee in 1956. The other institutions in the same system were all called Wisconsin State Colleges and subsequently became Wisconsin State Universities in the late 50s and early 60s. Yeah, I'm old. Get off my lawn. Barely anyone remembers. But if you want a comparison that sounds familiar... West Tennessee State Normal School became West Tennessee State Teachers College. Later, they became Memphis State College, then Memphis State University before landing on...the University of Memphis. You don't need to change the whole university's name (I'd like to, but I understand that's a higher hill to climb). You just need to tweak the brand of the university. Just take it from the State University of New York at Buffalo. That's what appears on their diplomas, but the whole country knows them as the University at Buffalo. MIL-WAUK-EE! (Clap) MIL-WAUK-EE! (Clap) MIL- WAUK-EE! (Clap). This chant, when there are a lot of energized fans in the stands, is iconic. When we really get it going, it still sends chills down my spine. Never do you feel more like you've hit the big time then when you get thousands of people chanting that. I'd also like to take another whack at doing the side-to-side chant: West: MIL East: WAU West: KEE East: MIL West: WAU East: KEE That way you're alternating what you're saying and it's fun. That one would have to be a cheerleader-led chant. Or do it like we did and keep it like this: West: MIL East: WAU Students: KEE Yes, branding is very important. I do not know of anyone who disagrees with that. Our sports branding is not broke. There just has not been much opportunity to capitalize on it lately. That can, and would change, with success. There is no need to fix what is not broke. It's not broke. It just needs to be tweaked and applied to the whole university. We have not even broached the subject of cost to change signage, documents, letterheads, etc. I know from what I have seen in the corporate world it is A LOT more expensive than one would think. Is that how a public university that is bleeding money because of declining enrollment and other factors wants to spend it's precious money? I used to be for an institutional change when this was a hot topic years ago. I am not now. I think all of our current focus should be on addressing fan apathy and supporting the Lundy regime. In 2009, the Student Association found that the total cost would be $1.2 million, but a significant part of that cost would be in new stationary that you are replacing continuously anyways. How much does the university spend on marketing? This cost can be spread out over time as a marketing expense. Did you read the comments I linked from that petition? Apathy is helped by making this move. You take the changing of the guard for the most high-profile employee of the university (Bart Lundy) and you make a couple other big moves to let the students, faculty, alumni and community know that this is a totally new era for the university, that we are evolving as an institution. Think "The Milwaukee Idea" for a new generation. We're building a new chemistry building and renovating the union as the front door to the university, the new basketball coach will have a shiny new practice facility to help recruit, and we're going to make a concerted push to move up and out of the Horizon League. Coach Lundy's hiring is an opportunity. Let's not waste it by waiting for him or another coach down the road to take us back to the Sweet 16. Let's use this hiring to drum up excitement now.
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Post by jmartin on Mar 23, 2022 7:15:08 GMT -6
I think the University of Cincinnati is a great model for UW-Milwaukee to emulate. The University of Cincinnati is a public university that belongs to the University System of Ohio and the University of Cincinnati has its own Board of Directors.
It appears that without its own Board of Directors that UW-Milwaukee isn’t in control of its own destiny. Why doesn’t UW-Milwaukee have its own Board of Directors?
I'm not suggesting for UW-Milwaukee to separate from the University of Wisconsin System. Why can't UW-Milwaukee have its own Board of Directors and still belong to the University of Wisconsin System?
I agree with the branding of the University of Milwaukee. How about an official name change to the following? University of Milwaukee, University of Wisconsin System
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Post by PantherU on Mar 25, 2022 23:21:52 GMT -6
I think the University of Cincinnati is a great model for UW-Milwaukee to emulate. The University of Cincinnati is a public university that belongs to the University System of Ohio and the University of Cincinnati has its own Board of Directors. It appears that without its own Board of Directors that UW-Milwaukee isn’t in control of its own destiny. Why doesn’t UW-Milwaukee have its own Board of Directors? I'm not suggesting for UW-Milwaukee to separate from the University of Wisconsin System. Why can't UW-Milwaukee have its own Board of Directors and still belong to the University of Wisconsin System? I agree with the branding of the University of Milwaukee. How about an official name change to the following? University of Milwaukee, University of Wisconsin SystemThe downside with an "official" name change is you would need the approval of the UW System to do it. This is obviously a problem that would be fixed if we had a Board of Directors. The closest thing we have is a Board of Trustees for the UWM Foundation, totally different (although I'd expect some such as fellow hoops fan Larry Schnuck would be on a Board of Directors for the university). The whole history of the UW System, they have kept the UW name going. This was a mistake from the start. Just look at all the public Division I universities in Virginia: George Mason, James Madison, Longwood, Norfolk State, Old Dominion, Radford, VCU, UVA, VMI, Virginia Tech, William & Mary. Think any of those schools have branding issues, or problems differentiating themselves from each other? What separates us from all the other UW schools? Milwaukee. Our power derives from our city. We exist for this city. Changing the brand requires nothing but a decision by the university. Mark Mone could make that change with a snap of his fingers. Obviously he'd have others help him make that decision, but the point is "we" decide the brand. Just a decision and planning. The money is worth every penny. I don't understand people who have no problem with the UWM/Wisconsin-Milwaukee/UW-Milwaukee branding issue. Do they not get that athletics is marketing for the university, and if people don't know your name they don't know you. Don't get me wrong. I prefer an official name change to the University of Milwaukee. I just know a brand change will be a lot easier, and an official name change could still follow later.
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Post by jmartin on Mar 27, 2022 18:00:14 GMT -6
I think the University of Cincinnati is a great model for UW-Milwaukee to emulate. The University of Cincinnati is a public university that belongs to the University System of Ohio and the University of Cincinnati has its own Board of Directors. It appears that without its own Board of Directors that UW-Milwaukee isn’t in control of its own destiny. Why doesn’t UW-Milwaukee have its own Board of Directors? I'm not suggesting for UW-Milwaukee to separate from the University of Wisconsin System. Why can't UW-Milwaukee have its own Board of Directors and still belong to the University of Wisconsin System? I agree with the branding of the University of Milwaukee. How about an official name change to the following? University of Milwaukee, University of Wisconsin SystemThe downside with an "official" name change is you would need the approval of the UW System to do it. This is obviously a problem that would be fixed if we had a Board of Directors. The closest thing we have is a Board of Trustees for the UWM Foundation, totally different (although I'd expect some such as fellow hoops fan Larry Schnuck would be on a Board of Directors for the university). The whole history of the UW System, they have kept the UW name going. This was a mistake from the start. Just look at all the public Division I universities in Virginia: George Mason, James Madison, Longwood, Norfolk State, Old Dominion, Radford, VCU, UVA, VMI, Virginia Tech, William & Mary. Think any of those schools have branding issues, or problems differentiating themselves from each other? What separates us from all the other UW schools? Milwaukee. Our power derives from our city. We exist for this city. Changing the brand requires nothing but a decision by the university. Mark Mone could make that change with a snap of his fingers. Obviously he'd have others help him make that decision, but the point is "we" decide the brand. Just a decision and planning. The money is worth every penny. I don't understand people who have no problem with the UWM/Wisconsin-Milwaukee/UW-Milwaukee branding issue. Do they not get that athletics is marketing for the university, and if people don't know your name they don't know you. Don't get me wrong. I prefer an official name change to the University of Milwaukee. I just know a brand change will be a lot easier, and an official name change could still follow later. Could there be a student referendum to vote on changing the university's name from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee to the University of Milwaukee, University of Wisconsin System?If the students voted in favor of a name change which has the University of Wisconsin System in it's name, it would be bad optics for the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents to not approve the name change. If there would be a student referendum vote regarding the university's name, I would suggest to make it a binary choice between the current name and one potential new name. I favor the name of the University of Milwaukee, University of Wisconsin System as it has the University of Wisconsin System in the name. I view this as a pivotal time in the university's history like in 1964 when the university changed it's school colors from Cardinal and White to Black and Gold and changed its nickname from the Cardinals to the Panthers.
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Post by PantherU on Mar 28, 2022 13:31:46 GMT -6
Could there be a student referendum to vote on changing the university's name from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee to the University of Milwaukee, University of Wisconsin System?If the students voted in favor of a name change which has the University of Wisconsin System in it's name, it would be bad optics for the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents to not approve the name change. If there would be a student referendum vote regarding the university's name, I would suggest to make it a binary choice between the current name and one potential new name. I favor the name of the University of Milwaukee, University of Wisconsin System as it has the University of Wisconsin System in the name. I view this as a pivotal time in the university's history like in 1964 when the university changed it's school colors from Cardinal and White to Black and Gold and changed its nickname from the Cardinals to the Panthers. So, there could absolutely be a referendum on the ballot for student elections this spring. I don't know how it works anymore, because IIRC the Student Association was destroyed and replaced by something far less corrupt, but students should still have some kind of spring election. Might be too late to put something on the ballot for this year. Again, that would be something that needs to be voted on and then approved at a higher level. Rebranding needs none of that. It would be easier, of course, to rebrand as the University of Milwaukee if you had a student vote on the matter.
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Post by jmartin on Mar 28, 2022 15:33:21 GMT -6
Could there be a student referendum to vote on changing the university's name from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee to the University of Milwaukee, University of Wisconsin System?If the students voted in favor of a name change which has the University of Wisconsin System in it's name, it would be bad optics for the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents to not approve the name change. If there would be a student referendum vote regarding the university's name, I would suggest to make it a binary choice between the current name and one potential new name. I favor the name of the University of Milwaukee, University of Wisconsin System as it has the University of Wisconsin System in the name. I view this as a pivotal time in the university's history like in 1964 when the university changed it's school colors from Cardinal and White to Black and Gold and changed its nickname from the Cardinals to the Panthers. So, there could absolutely be a referendum on the ballot for student elections this spring. I don't know how it works anymore, because IIRC the Student Association was destroyed and replaced by something far less corrupt, but students should still have some kind of spring election. Might be too late to put something on the ballot for this year. Again, that would be something that needs to be voted on and then approved at a higher level. Rebranding needs none of that. It would be easier, of course, to rebrand as the University of Milwaukee if you had a student vote on the matter. I agree with the rebranding of the university to the University of Milwaukee but I think without an official name change to support the new branding that the university would still have large portions of the population calling the university by UW-Milwaukee, Wisconsin-Milwaukee or UWM. It would be great to force the vote by the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents to approve or deny a name change that the students voted for in a referendum. Especially, if the new name voted for by the student includes the "University of Wisconsin System" in the name like the University of Milwaukee, University of Wisconsin System.
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Post by PantherU on Mar 28, 2022 20:51:26 GMT -6
I agree with the rebranding of the university to the University of Milwaukee but I think without an official name change to support the new branding that the university would still have large portions of the population calling the university by UW-Milwaukee, Wisconsin-Milwaukee or UWM. It would be great to force the vote by the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents to approve or deny a name change that the students voted for in a referendum. Especially, if the new name voted for by the student includes the "University of Wisconsin System" in the name like the University of Milwaukee, University of Wisconsin System. I do like your compromise of putting University of Wisconsin System at the end of the name. A rebranding has made it so the University at Buffalo is almost never referred to as SUNY at Buffalo. What matters is that whether it's a rebrand or a wholesale change to the official name of the university, the name change has to be consistent throughout every corner of the university, athletics or not. I think starting with "milwaukee.edu" is a great kicking off point.
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Post by jmartin on Mar 30, 2022 15:20:57 GMT -6
I agree with the rebranding of the university to the University of Milwaukee but I think without an official name change to support the new branding that the university would still have large portions of the population calling the university by UW-Milwaukee, Wisconsin-Milwaukee or UWM. It would be great to force the vote by the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents to approve or deny a name change that the students voted for in a referendum. Especially, if the new name voted for by the student includes the "University of Wisconsin System" in the name like the University of Milwaukee, University of Wisconsin System. I do like your compromise of putting University of Wisconsin System at the end of the name. A rebranding has made it so the University at Buffalo is almost never referred to as SUNY at Buffalo. What matters is that whether it's a rebrand or a wholesale change to the official name of the university, the name change has to be consistent throughout every corner of the university, athletics or not. I think starting with "milwaukee.edu" is a great kicking off point. Milwaukee.edu would be a great starting point. If the students voted in favor of a name change, it would be awesome to force the vote on the name change to the UW System Board of Regents. I'm in favor of the name of University of Milwaukee, University of Wisconsin System as it has the "University of Wisconsin System" in the name. By having the "University of Wisconsin System" in the name, it would be difficult for the UW System Board of Regents to justify to not approve the name change. Furthermore, an upcoming name change could coincide very well with the potential upcoming success of the basketball program. Also, I would strongly suggest if a name change referendum was to take place to make it a binary choice between the current name and 1 proposed new name. Do you think there would be interest in a potential student referendum vote on the name change possibly next year or in the coming years?
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