By Laura Heinauer

AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

Tuesday, September 14, 2004

They say everything's bigger in Texas. Ohio may beg to differ.

Preliminary enrollment figures released Tuesday by the University of Texas suggest that the Austin campus can no longer claim to have the largest student population in the country — a designation it's held since 1997.

The honor looks as if it will now belong to Ohio State University in Columbus, although officials there have not finalized their enrollment numbers.

UT officials estimated Tuesday that 50,403 students are enrolled this fall — down more than 1,000 from last year, thanks to UT President Larry Faulkner's efforts to reduce the student population to 48,000 over the next five years.

At Ohio State, there were 50,731 students enrolled last fall, about 300 more than UT is estimating this year.

Since classes at Ohio State don't start until Sept. 22, officials in Columbus will not have enrollment estimates until next month. However, school officials expect Ohio State's student population to remain steady, university relations officer Amy Murray said.

UT officials don't seem worried about the campus's potential drop in the enrollment standings.

"Being the biggest is not always an asset," said Isabella Cunningham, chairwoman of a UT task force on enrollment strategy. "In fact, it's a problem if you don't have all the facilities and the resources needed to provide a healthy educational environment, both for the students and the professors."

Perhaps UT can regain some bragging rights next September, when the Longhorns meet the Buckeyes on the football field for the first time.