Good thing that U of Alabama, Arkansas, Alaska, Auburn, etc don't get talked about too much. I'd be totally lost.... AU? UofA? UAB? Also, I was in college in the '70's. Unfortunately, when we abbreviated our college name, (Vassar - VC) people thought we were referring to the VietCong!!
There was a very funny thread not too long ago where people were trying to see if they could decipher long abbreviations. It was pretty funny, and clever, but I haven't found it yet.. Stay tuned...