On Jun 18, 4:40=A0pm, Charlie Pearce <charlie.pea...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> On Tue, 8 Apr 2008 10:27:50 -0700 (PDT), "Richard R. Hershberger"
>
> <rrhe...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> >27 seems to me absurdly low. =A0I wouldn't be surprised to find that
> >close to 27 institutions of higher learning in my state of Maryland
> >have football teams. =A0That is including both colleges and
> >universities.
>
> Colleges *and* universities? =A0I always assumed they were synonyms in
> the USA. =A0What's the defining difference?
They're not quite synonyms, but they're not quite not synonyms
either. A small private institution, often in a smallish town out in
the country, is much more likely to be called a "college" while a
large institution, either public or private, is more likely to be
called a "university", but there are exceptions both ways. Then there
are "community colleges" or "junior colleges" which are typically
local public institutions that traditionally have two year programs,
often serving as feeders to four-year universities. Another typical
distinction is that "colleges" most likely don't offer post-graduate
degrees, while "universities" most likely do: except when it is the
other way around, of course.
The reason I wrote so inclusively was Maryland, while a fine state in
many ways, is not greatly endowed with football powerhouses. The
University of Maryland, our main public university, is really the only
school with a s****ts reputation, and it is more for basketball. But
on the lower tiers we are well represented. Johns Hopkins University
is known for its medical school, but it also has one of the finest
Division III baseball programs in the country. As for "colleges," my
local town has McDaniel College, a smallish private school with a very
bad football program and a baseball team that routinely gets creamed
by Johns Hopkins. McDaniel doesn't have a national reputation for
anything, but it is among Maryland's many institutions of higher
learning that field football teams.
Richard R. Hershberger
|
