As one of the few (if not the only) Lowell alum on the list, I guess I
must, despite the fact that I've tried to avoid it, jump into the UMass
name discussion.  My brief comments:
 
1)  I really don't have an opinion on what the people on Amherst should
call themselves.  IMO, valid arguments can be made for either side.  What
does puzzle me though, is their stubborness to go along with Hockey East's
ruling.  Right or wrong, Hockey East has told them that they'll be refered
to as UMass-Amherst and they should abide by the league's ruling.  If
they're so hung up on being called UMass, keep after the league with valid
arguments until the league sees their point of view.  Until then, though,
take your medicine and do what you're told.
 
2)  Leigh mentioned that Lowell doesn't have any reference to "UMass" on
their uniforms.  One thing that I'd like to mention is that UMass-Lowell
is a school that has undergone alot of changes over the last 20 years.
Unlike the Amherst campus, which to my knowledge, has always been thought
of as "UMass", Lowell has been, Lowell State, Lowell Institute of
Technology, the University of Lowell, and finally UMass-Lowell.  (It might
be noted that ULowell was created in the late 60's and was the aggregation
of Lowell State and LIT).  By referring to the school as "Lowell" the
university is encompassing ALL alumni.  There are still many alumni who
are unhappy that LIT became ULowell, let alone those of us who weren't
happy when ULowell affiliated themselves with the UMass system.  One
poster made some references to the academic prowess of the two schools,
wondering which school was the better.  This is sort of a non-issue, IMO,
both schools have distinctive academic advantages.  Many engineering types
that were against the "UMass"ing of Lowell were upset because the Lowell
was now affiliating themselves with, in their opinion, an inferior
academic institution.  Myself, the reason I was displeased was that, in my
view, Lowell (as a relatively new school that was born in the late 60's)
was finally starting to carve out their own identity, both academically
and athletically.  Nothing against the UMass system, but by becoming part
of the bohemeth system, Lowell lost alot of it's own identity.
 
3)  Someone else pointed out, and I've noticed this alot as well, that
there seems to be an awful lot of shirts, bumper stickers, etc, that are
saying "UMass-Amherst).  Surely this can't be just because of the hockey
situation?
 
4)  I mean really!  What is the big deal?
 
Sorry for the disjointed rambling.....
 
  - Steve
 
HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey;  send information to
[log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.