The acronym “UC” was used by the University of Colorado for fifty years, beginning when the university opened in 1876. Around 1924-25 “CU” became the official abbreviation, presumably to distinguish Colorado from the University of California. Coincidentally, other schools in the Big 12 Conference also use this reverse acronym. For example, the Universities of Kansas and Oklahoma are known as KU and OU, respectively. The official name of the four-campus system is the University of Colorado, and the acronym is CU.
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