had grown so rapidly that a bill was proposed in the state legislature to elevate it to university status. Originally, Mankato State was to have been renamed the University of Southern Minnesota; a later amendment would have renamed it Minnesota State University. (These were proposed long before the television show Coach aired.) It was to be a second and independent state university equal in stature to the University of Minnesota at a time when there was only one research institution. There was significant opposition from the University of Minnesota and from Governor Karl Rolvaag at the time.
In 1975 the college successfully made the case for university status and was renamed "Mankato State University". This change reflected a further 40% growth in the student body to 12,000 students by 1972. Following this, the number of programs increased, to include science, technology, engineering, health sciences, and others. While the transition to "state university" was being considered, the administration also explored …
