The university of Arizona has changed its official abbreviation from UA to UArizona to distinguish itself from other UA branded schools and companies.

UArizona was created to make the university the first entry that appears when searched for online. In the past, when “UA” search term was used, results turned up companies such as Under Armour and United Airlines as well as the University of Alabama.

According to Pam Scott, associate vice president of external communications, the phrase “UArizona” was coined over several months by a group of marketing and communications associates tasked with finding a solution.

The change was implemented to become the official secondary reference on communication documents and nation and international press releases. As of now, the school has no intentions to put UArizona on any of its merchandise and will keep “Arizona” as an official merchandise title. When people talk about the university, they still want to be referred to as UA or U of A.  This rebranding is set only to change the way University of Arizona is searched for online.