USC

[Charles Doyle]

In one sense, nicknaming a college or university for the town of its location seems to have a bit of snob appeal, or at least to function within an "in-group" comprising academicians:  "Chapel Hill," "Ann Arbor," "Bloomington," "Berkeley."  The pattern occurs mostly with smallish cities or "college towns."  We wouldn’t likely refer to universities as "Minneapolis" or "Philadelphia" or "Atlanta."

In another sense, the nicknaming can be general (as to social class or whatever) but  more localized:  "He got his degree from Athens"  or "Gainesville" or "Austin"  might be said by residents of the respective states but probably by few outsiders.  Of course, ambiguity needs to be avoided; I doubt if anybody much calls the University of Missouri "Columbia" or the University of Mississippi "Oxford."

Interesting distinction:  I have on occasion (snobbishly?) referred to the University of Illinois as "Urbana."  My wife, on the other hand, a Chicagoan, regularly speaks of this or that nephew as being a student at "Champaign-Urbana."  Apparently, the university’s actual mailing address is Champaign.

--Charlie

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org