CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Calls to change the name of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte aren't anything new.
- The winner of the NBA All-Star Weekend's 3-point contest referred to UNCC as "University of Charlotte."
- A petition now wants to change the name of the school.
- There were efforts back in 2018 on social media to #DropTheUNC.
Renewed efforts have come back to the surface after an All-Star Weekend flub. Joe Harris of the Brooklyn Nets, who won the 3-point contest, thanked "the University of Charlotte" after his win, noting that he was able to practice in their gym.
Now, a new petition has been created to change the name of the school.
It reads: UNC Charlotte, is the second largest institution in the UNC System. UNC Charlotte is often confused with UNC Chapel Hill which often goes by UNC, or mistaken as a community college. Keeping the UNC is like being the younger brother caught in the shadow of big brother Chapel Hill. Leave the state/area and people don't even know we exist. They hear UNCC and say "chapel hill." Stand with us, and ask for the name to be formally changed to the University of Charlotte.
A social media campaign in 2018 called #DropTheUNC advocated for changing the school's name after a NCDOT road sign commemorating UNC Chapel Hill's NCAA Men's Basketball Championship was placed near the UNCC campus.
According to the student newspaper, Niner Times, back in 2018, the university's chancellor was against renaming and said it would be very unlikely. “I’ve been passively against it since 2005, when I became chancellor. Many people think that if we … drop the UNC and became the University of Charlotte, that this would be a more distinctive identity for us," said Phillip L. Dubois.