University of Wisconsin System - Controversy

Controversy

Since the 1971 union of the universities and colleges under the University of Wisconsin System name, there has been a controversy over the arrangement. The name "University of Wisconsin" is often used to refer to the Madison campus, which has made it difficult for other institutions to make names for themselves. Conversely, many who are connected to UW–Madison have claimed that having so many institutions share the "University of Wisconsin" title has caused a form of brand dilution.

In 2006 and 2009 the students at the Milwaukee campus voted on whether the school should change its name to something that didn't carry the UW name (such as Wisconsin State University or University of Milwaukee). In both cases, a plurality of students voted to retain the name "University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee," but over 50% were in favor of a different name. However, since 2004 the UWM athletic department has dropped the UW prefix and simply refers to the school's athletic teams as the Milwaukee Panthers. UW-Green Bay has since done the same and are officially the Green Bay Phoenix. Other UW system programs are commonly referred to by just the city name as they all play in the same conference, the WIAC, making the 'UW' redundant. The exception is UW-Parkside, who plays in the Division II Great Lakes Valley Conference and are commonly simply called "Parkside".