Just had a thought re: Boalt and Berkeley Law. In the legal world, no one batted an eye at the name change. One year it was Boalt, the next it was Berkeley Law. USNWR rankings didn’t take a hit, the pedigree remained (and remains) the same in academic circles, and the student outcomes (big law jobs, clerkships) also weren’t adversely affected.

Academic elites will adjust to calling Berkeley as California and the university will maintain the same luster. We just need to be bold enough to make that change