At 1:59 PM 4/23/96, Howard M. Quimby wrote:
>While I really don't see why UMass people have a problem with Amherst
>appearing after their name, lets not forget that the "A" came to be because
>Maine was UM and Lowell was UML in Hockey East.  It only made sense for Umass
>to be UMA.   I suppose the league and the rest of the hockey fans in the
>northeast could bow to the wishes of UMass and drop the Amherst, but I'm going
>to side with clarity on this one.  You are, after all, in Amherst!
 
Just to explain...my understanding is that Hockey East made the decision to
use "UMass Amherst" mainly to prevent any misunderstandings that may arise.
HE releases go all over the place, and it was realized early on that some
people are confused by the use of "UMass" and do not know which hockey team
it refers to.  Better to remove all doubt and use "UMass Amherst" and
"UMass Lowell" for those teams.
 
Some have speculated (on and off the list) that the "Amherst" may have been
tacked on either to prevent Lowell from getting upset or simply because
Lowell was "there first".  I do not know for certain that this is true, but
anything is possible.  Yet, I believe the explanation above makes sense and
is all that is needed.
 
Since HE uses "UMass Amherst", this is what I have chosen to use in the
DivI composite and other official items I come upon and post.  If they
switch to using "UMass", I will also switch.
 
I also do not know whether the school has approached HE about dropping
"Amherst".  If so, and if HE has chosen to keep using "UMass Amherst", I
would again say that it is most likely in the interest of clarity.  The
league has to take all factors into consideration, and if some people
confuse "UMass" for Lowell, then it seems to make sense to make it clear
which team is being referred to.
 
---                                                                   ---
Mike Machnik                   [log in to unmask]            *HMM* 11/13/93
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