No more 'UArizona': University makes style switch back to 'U of A'

After a five-year stint, the University of Arizona is doing away with “UArizona.”

The 2019 style change was an adjustment for many fans and alumni, even landing the school in a segment of SNL’s “Weekend Update .” Now, university communications staff are being directed to return to “U of A” as the school’s abbreviated title in promotional materials and articles.

University spokesperson Mitch Zak said the change was originally made to differentiate the school from other national and international entities such as the University of Alabama, United Airlines and Under Armour. The university was also looking to make gains in search engine optimization, which plays a role in what results a person sees first when they enter a prompt into Google.

Zak said the change is a "routine" styling update, as opposed to a new marketing strategy. Reverting to the older abbreviation better serves UA’s audience, he said, including students, alumni and sports fans.

“For folks that are looking for the university online, we always want to make sure they find us easily," Zak said.

While "U of A" has received substantially more search interest compared to "UArizona" during the past five years according to Google, that does not account for any other institutions already being searched.

While many of the school’s social media handles will still keep the "UArizona" name, like on Instagram and X, readers will see the original format reappear in university news articles and headlines. The abbreviation doesn't appear frequently on the school's website, which uses the arizona.edu domain.

The new directions went into effect quietly on July 1, with Zak saying the change was an internal decision.  The Arizona Board of Regents, the body overseeing the state's public university system, began using "U of A" in articles starting in June .

When the 2019 change was rolled out, many alumni and fans spoke out against it even though it didn't impact the school's overall branding. Some found the abbreviation, which was longer than its counterpart, clunky.

SNL's Colin Jost mocked the new name, comparing it to the punchline of a joke about Arizona cliches.

Helen Rummel covers higher education for The Arizona Republic. Reach her at hrummel@azcentral.com . Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @helenrummel .

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: No more 'UArizona': University makes style switch back to 'U of A'