In addition to serving as the department's official hashtag, #LittleRocksTeam is about uniting the Little Rock community and region. Little Rock deserves a Division I athletic department it can be proud of. That mission starts by becoming a Division I athletic department it can identify with.

Founded as Little Rock Junior College in 1927 before becoming Little Rock University 30 years later, Arkansas' flagship university has always proudly worn the name of the state's largest and capital city.

Home to more than 1 million people living within a 50-mile radius of downtown, Little Rock serves as more than the cultural and economic hub of the state - it is the capital of Arkansas and the global brand of a 12-county region. Little Rock is Arkansas' conduit to the Southeast region and much of the nation's strongest connection to the state.

#LittleRocksTeam is about pushing that connection to the forefront.

With over 200 student-athletes competing nationwide in more than 200 athletic events annually, the Department of Athletics needs a brand that is unique and identifiable - a brand that will stand up anywhere.

Starting in the 2015-16 academic year, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock's 15-sport athletic program will again be known as the Little Rock Trojans. Just as it was when the Trojans captured the Junior College National Championship at the 1949 Junior Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. And just as it was when Bill Ballard and Betty Jo Stephens resurrected men's and women's basketball in the 1960s.

Little Rock is a brand that stands up anywhere.