Talk:Pittsburgh Panthers women's basketball

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[edit] Pitt vs Pittsburgh

This has recently come up as two separate editors have taken it upon themselves to change every mention of "Pitt" to "Pittsburgh" in an effort to "formalize" the articles...particularly the sports articles. For now I have undone the revisions on the Pittsburgh Panther web page. There is some history here that those from outside the Pittsburgh/Western PA area are probably unaware of.

1. Since 1908 when the University of Pittsburgh changed its name from the Western University of Pennsylvania (until 1819 it was known as Pittsburgh Academy), those inside and outside of the university have referred to it as "Pitt". Official documentation also self-refers to the university as "Pitt". The quintessential history of the University by Alberts is called "Pitt" and the most referenced slogan and fight song is "Hail to Pitt". Press releases involving the athletic teams (see here for the most recent :press release) refer to the teams as "Pitt". The web site url is www.pitt.edu. It is very similar to the University of Pennsylvania self-referring to itself as "Penn", Pennsylvania State University referring to itself as "Penn State", or the University of California-Berkley referring to itself as "Cal".

2. Locally and regionally, and even nationally, "Pitt" is used to differentiate the University's sports teams from the professional sports teams of Pittsburgh (the Steelers, Pirates and Penguins).

3. Controversy struck in 1997 when new athletic director Steve Pederson took over a sagging athletic department at the university. In an effort to reinvigorate the sports programs by suggesting a fresh start, as well as to tie the Universities athletic teams closer the city in an attempt to revive flagging fan support among the city's non-alumni sports fans, Pederson introduced a new athletics logo, new blue and gold color scheme, and new uniforms. Highlighting these changes was the replacement of the "script" Pitt logo (used to adorn facilities, uniforms, football helmets, and even used for non-athletic university markings) with a logo that incorporated the word "Pittsburgh" in a torch-cut font. Pederson also sent press releases to all local and national media outlets requesting that they no longer refer to the University as "Pitt", but as "Pittsburgh". This met with outrage among some elements of the fan and alumni base, and was generally received by local and national media outlets with scorn, although they did generally comply. A torch-cut "Pitt" logo was produced during this era and was meant to be used only for internal university markings and was seldom seen. Upon the departure of Pederson to the University of Nebraska and the arrival of athletic director Jeff Long, the torch-cut Pittsburgh logo was gradually phased-out, and, to coincide with the hiring of Pitt alumni Dave Wannstedt as head football coach in late 2004, a new (yet retro) "block" Pitt logo was introduced thereby completely reversing the edicts of Pederson to replace "Pitt" with "Pittsburgh" in promotional and media fronts. Interestingly, the change in blue and gold shades remains, as they have been adopted university-wide and Steve Pederson has since returned as AD at Pitt, although he promised there will be revisions of the current logo this time around. However, the replacement of "Pitt" with "Pittsburgh" remains a very sensitive issue for many involved with the university, and unilateral conversion of "Pitt" to "Pittsburgh" may result in edit wars between alumni factions.

4. That said, the official name is the University of Pittsburgh and "Pittsburgh" is used to some extent, generally when referencing other academic criteria in the same sentence that would immediately signal that it was referring to the University, not the city. For instance, when using "Pittsburgh" it is typically either proceeded with the words "University of" or followed by "Panthers", etc). This holds true for administrators through alumni of the university.

These are the reasonings to leave "Pitt" alone, so to speak. I welcome further opinions but, again, direct you the usages of "Penn", "Penn State", and "Cal" by those respective universities. Just so its clear, I do believe the use of the word "Pittsburgh" when referring to Pitt is useful to reduce repetitiveness in the text. Please leave your opinions on this opinion. cp101p (talk) 23:50, 4 March 2008 (UTC)