There's Michigan, and Michigan State.

There's probably an Oregon State.

There's Savannah State, that went 0-and-whatever this season.

What is the significance of the suffix "State"?

Please don't forget "The Ohio State University".
State supported, non private schools.

From what I understand is if it contains "state" then it is state funded.

Ok, so does that mean that Michigan goes not receive any State assistance?

How do they obtain income? Solely tuition and advertising?

It seems to me that the economical thing to do is to attend a State school.

Sometimes it is...Sometimes it is still more "economical" to attend a private university that may get funding from sources such as United Way.

Michigan and Michigan state are both state schools. As are Iowa and Iowa State. Having "state" in the name is not necessary. Usually the schools that have the name of a state in their name are state schools (Iowa, Iowa State, Northern Iowa). I think it's just a differentiator between state universities.

Many states have multiple tiers of public universities with each type of school having a different aim and focus.

Generally the universities not bearing the word "State" are the flagship research universities in the particular state. These are the "University of..." schools. These are public schools.

The next tier are the "State" schools with "State" in the name. These are still "universities" in that they are they are aimed at a high level of academia and usually have a graduate school, like a law or medical school or some kind of Masters or Doctoral degree program. These offer university education but are not as competetive from an admission standpoint.

Below that are usually the vocational or technical schools and the smaller "colleges" (as opposed to Universities). Many of these are private. These have more focus curriculums.

Below those are the Community Colleges and JCs. Many of these are private. These are for people who for whatever reason, cant get into the more competitive schools or for other life reasons need more flexible educational situations--a working person who wants more night classes, someone who decided to get serious about school later in life, maybe they want a few specialized classes, etc.

Any of them may be state funded.

For example, in California there are:

1. the best public universities: the "UC" schools: University of California at Los Angeles, UC Berkeley, etc.

2. the State school universities: "California State Fulerton" or Cal State Long Beach.

3. The colleges.

4. The community collegs and JCs.

That is the public university and college system.

It is no reflection on the level of athletics. For example, University of California at Irvine is an excellent University, but their athletics blow.

Clark

I believe the practice of referring to a school as State dates back to the 19th century. It was just a term that many state supported schools used in their name.

In NC, there is a University of North Carolina system. All 16 schools in the system are state supported. Many of them use State, such as NC State, Winston-Salem State, Elizabeth City State, and Fayetteville State. Although Carolina is referred to as THE University of North Carolina, it is actually the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. But since it's the first and oldest state supported school in the state (and the country, 1795), the Chapel Hill connotation is not used very often, except when distinguishing it with other school similiarly named in the system.

I bet that's more than you wanted to know. :)

Schools like Michigan, Illinois, Iowa, Illinois State, and Northern Iowa are "state schools." That means they are funded by the state the schools are located in. Not all states are the same, but most have some guidelines of education set by the state government as well. In some cases there might be up to 8-10 or so state schools in one state.

Peace

I thought anteaters licked.

:) Yeah, they lick alright.

But again, the phrase "State" is usually applied to the second-tier public university system in a particular state. "U of..." is usually the first-tier, most competitive admissions and most dedication to graduate programs and "[State Name] State..." is usually the second tier of public university in the state with more accomodating admissions standards but still an excellent university.

UNC and NC State are excellent examples.

Clark

Many of us want to call games for these schools. How's that? :D

It's called a diversion. We are allowed. Ask Brad.

The suffix "State" means nothing. It is only a name.
Some universities have taken the "State" out of their name, but they are still state universities. It was once trendy to call your university "... State University". That is becasue that is the name the board of regents chose. Perhaps state legislatures wanted "State" in the name and to "grease the wheels" of progress, the board of regents agreed. The schools were originally funded and organized via acts of the States.
It now seems trendy to take the "State" out. Where I currently live, the sorry state of Texas, they used to have West Texas State University and East Texas State University. They are now, West Texas A&M University and Texas A&M - Commerce. North Texas State University is now University of North Texas.
Most of these universities have intermural basketball programs and use referees for those programs.

Michigan and Michigan State played each other recently. :D

Peace