Here's a history lesson ahead of Miami RedHawks vs. Miami Hurricanes in 'Confusion Bowl'

Miami University (Ohio) and the University of Miami (Florida) football teams face off for only the fourth time in history on Friday.

Good luck to those listening in on the radio.

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Miami University was founded in 1809, meaning it’s the second oldest university in Ohio, the 10th oldest public university in the United States. The University of Miami was founded in 1925, making it short of roughly half the history the Ohio counterpart has. The Miami RedHawks had a football team 37 years before the Florida school existed.

Regardless, both stake the claim at the name.

The history of 'Miami'

Miami (Ohio) came long before Miami (Florida). Was the Ohio school OK with a new college using its name? The short answer: No, not really.

Former Miami University President Alfred H. Upham wrote a letter in protest of the Florida school’s name hardly a year before becoming president of the school in Oxford. He wrote of disdain and protest toward Miami (Florida), with a passionate display of pride for the Ohio school.

“Since the first announcements, more than a year ago, regarding the new University of Miami in Florida, I have looked in vain for even the mildest protest from the alumni and friends of our own Miami University,” Upham wrote.

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Referencing the history of Miami University’s name, which came from a river named after a local Native American tribe, Upham insisted in his writing there were plenty of different name options for a new university.

“There are so many perfectly good names for a new and aspiring university. What justification or justice is there in appropriating one that has made its place in the academic world through more than a century of achievement?” he wrote.

In fact, the University of Miami understood Miami University's sentiment. The Florida school’s first president, Bowman F. Ashe, wrote the following in 1929:

“I had some correspondence two years ago with President Hughes (of Ohio) about the matter, and the Board seriously considered changing the name to the University of Southern Florida. The difficulty in that is that it would again raise some confusion in connection with our state university, and it might also have the same effect upon municipal appropriations which we receive from the city of Miami.”

Ashe wrote the school would try to avoid confusion in as many ways as possible, and even suggested the possibility of a future name change.

Well, that didn’t happen, and now, 100 years later, Miami vs. Miami still compete in the “Confusion Bowl.”

Football background

Despite being younger, “The U,” a popular nickname given to the University of Miami, is the more successful football program in head-to-head competition as the Hurricanes are 3-0.

In back-to-back years, 1945 and 1946, the Florida school bested the Ohio school 27-13 and 20-17. In 1945 the Hurricanes finished the season 9-1-1, and won the Orange Bowl. In 1987, the most recent matchup of the “Miami Bowl,” the Hurricanes bested the RedHawks, 54-3. The side from southern Florida, which featured dozens of future NFL players including Hall of Famer Michael Irvin, were named the Consensus National Champions that year.

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Despite the lopsided matchup history, both boast two historic college football programs that have produced talent and minds that have gone on to do incredible things in the NFL. And one thing is for sure: Miami is going to beat Miami on Friday. Miami will kick off, Miami will receive, Miami will defend, and Miami will score. Say that, and the predictions can’t be wrong.

Confused, yet?

In case you were looking for ways to distinguish the two, here is every way both schools are referenced in this story. Enjoy busting these out when Miami and Miami kick off Friday evening:

• Miami University (Ohio), Miami (Ohio), Miami RedHawks, Miami University, the school in Oxford, the Ohio school, Miami of Ohio, the RedHawks.

• University of Miami (Florida), Miami (Florida), University of Miami, Florida, the Florida school, “The U,” the side from southern Florida, the Hurricanes.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Miami RedHawks vs. Miami Hurricanes in 2023 'Confusion Bowl'