The University of Denver men's basketball team [2] opens its season tonight against East Central.East Central is apparently a university, and since DU is playing them in basketball, they must be a decent-sized university in order to field an athletic team. But I have never heard of East Central, and I have no idea where it might be located. Is it East of someplace in the Central United States? Or is it located in the Central part of the Eastern United States? And who is responsible for naming a university "East Central"? Whoever is responsible should be punched in the groin.I'm going to guess that East Central is located East of someplace Central, which would place it perhaps, in West Virginia. That's my guess, although I am far from confident; the school may be in Los Angeles, not far from South Central Los Angeles.You've got my guess. Now I'm going to search online to find out (this is not a gag - I really have no idea where the school is located).Go ahead and make your guess before you scroll down to find the answer................As it turns out, East Central University [3] - the home of the Eagles - is located in Ada, Oklahoma. That makes a lot of sense no sense at all. Of course, neither does the "history" of ECU [4] on the school Web site:

East Central University was one of three normal schools established in eastern Oklahoma in 1909. Three similar institutions had been established earlier in the western half of the new state; each provided preparatory education including two years of college leading to teacher certification.Ada's selection as the college's location followed intensive lobbying efforts by the 25,000 Club, a local booster club which also raised funds for faculty salaries so classes could begin that fall in local churches and public school classrooms. The 1910 legislature appropriated funds for faculty salaries and construction of a building which was completed later that year on a sixteen acre site which had been donated by Dan Hayes, a Chickasaw allottee.In 1919 the six normal schools became teachers' colleges and began to confer bachelors degrees. In 1939 they added degree programs in Arts and Sciences and were designated as state colleges. In 1954 the six colleges were authorized to offer their first graduate work in a fifth-year program for teachers. Other master's degrees have since been added.

Uh...come again? What the hell is a "normal" school?The strangest part of this whole search is that the name East Central was chosen, on purpose, not that long ago:

In 1974 East Central became East Central Oklahoma State University which was changed to East Central University in 1985.

I fully understand changing the name from East Central Oklahoma State University - that's a ridiculous name - but why would you intentionally make the name more confusing? You had the opportunity to change the name of your school, and all you could come up with was East Central? Really?Anyway, good luck to the DU Pioneers tonight, and thank goodness the game is in Denver. At least nobody has to figure out which direction to send the team plane.