NOW YOU KNOW

Why do the Miami Hurricanes have a big U on their helmets instead of an M? The official University of Miami athletic department web site (www.bridge.net/big-john/umsports) has the answer.

The Miami athletic federation wanted to achieve a distinctive logo that could be used for all of its sports teams. So the federation hired a designer named Bill Bodenheimer to create a unique symbol.

Bodenheimer believed that there were just too many M universities--Michigan, Missouri, Maryland, etc. And all of those universities used the M in their logos.

But only one major university, Utah, used a U. Bodenheimer also believed that the U could be used with a greater variety of graphic possibilities, such as kicking a field goal through the U, shooting a basket through the U, etc.

The university quickly accepted the idea and started using the U in slogans as well, such as “U Gotta Believe.”

Now U know.