What is the difference between Ohio State University and Ohio University?

Answer 1

OU was the original school and Ohio State became a school in 1879. OU is located in Athens and OSU is in Columbus. OSU is the third largest school in the nation and among the 10 largest in the world. OSU is also known for the athletic program, having the biggest and most amount of NCAA teams than any school inthe US (36 in total). OSU is know as a 'public ivy' rating among one of the top 20 acedemic schools in the nation. OU's campus is famous for its Halloween celebrations.

OSU school colors: Scarlet and Gray, mascot: Buckeye

OU colors: White and Green, mascot: Bobcat

Answer 2

Ohio State University and "The Ohio State University" are the same place. Ohio State University wanted to do something to distance itself from all the other universities in Ohio, and especially from any university that has Ohio in its name such as the following:

Ohio College of Pediatric Medicine

Ohio Northern University

Ohio Dominican University

Ohio University (Athens + 6 auxiliary campuses throughout Southeast Ohio)

Ohio Wesleyan University

Another reason to do this is that Ohio has many state funded Universities. For example Cleveland State, Kent State, Wright State (Dayton), Youngstown State are all Ohio state universities. Ohio State University wanted to separate itself from being just another "Ohio State University" and become "THE Ohio State University"