Is the school name Middle Tennessee or Middle Tennessee State? An investigation

Welcome to this investigation into a pivotal matter.

Is the school the Colorado State football team faced Middle Tennessee or Middle Tennessee State?

The people need to know. Folks like myself who have watched random college football games for a long time automatically want to say "Middle Tennessee State" or "MTSU."

But the main athletics logo for whatever the school is called is "MT" and the game notes for Saturday's game clearly designate just "Middle Tennessee" with "State" nowhere to be found. Literally, I searched the entire game notes and the only times "state" is used is in reference to other schools or places.

Many folks around Conference USA recently knew to not use the "State" word. Being a Journalist and all, I had to investigate.

Naturally, I went to Google. "Middle Tennessee or Middle Tennessee State" and "Middle Tennessee State name change" and "when did Middle Tennessee State change name" sent me down the rabbit hole.

In 2015, our partners at the Daily News Journal in Murfreesboro wrote a story about the discussion, saying "a number of Middle Tennessee State University fans have longed for a name change to remove the 'State' from the school's name. Some would prefer the school change its name to the 'University of Middle Tennessee.' "

The story noted several other similar name changes, including Memphis State transitioning to the University of Memphis. "Middle Tennessee is not a state," a student section is chanting somewhere, I'm sure.

About the game:Everything you need to know about CSU against Middle Tennessee

It appears this was a hot topic of conversation in the area in the early-through-mid 2010s. A Facebook page supporting a name change still has some 1,600 followers despite no postings since 2015. A story on the 90.3 WLPN radio station website from 2015 quotes a student saying the name makes "us sound like basically a community college."

There was some surge in support for a transition to the "University of Middle Tennessee."

Conclusion: Any good investigation finds the answers, and I have them. Sort of.

The official name of the school is still Middle Tennessee State University, and MTSU is still used (heck, the school website is MTSU.edu). The NCAA, though, calls it "Middle Tennessee" on its FBS stats pages.

Per a staffer at Middle Tennessee, the athletics style guide says to drop the "State." It's become less stringent now, but still: "Middle Tennessee" is used on first reference and "MTSU" on subsequent references.

Of course, the logo on the helmets says just "MT."

Go figure.

Gameday at Canvas:What to know if you're going to a home CSU football game

Follow sports reporter Kevin Lytle on Twitter and Instagram @Kevin_Lytle.