Hats off to the new law school

Globe staff photos/John Ioven

The new (left) and previous versions of the UMass cap; below, the older one ended up commemorating a defeat.

By Globe Staff

It wasn't quite the Super Bowl. But UMass officials took a page from the playbook of sports teams, preprinting caps emblazoned with "UMass Law School" even before they faced a high-profile contest of their own.

This time, their bet paid off: The blue hats with gold trim and lettering herald the approval today of the state's first public law school. Cheerful supporters handed out dozens of them after the state Board of Higher Education, meeting in Bridgewater, endorsed the school in a unanimous vote.

The hats were not the only sign of a UMass victory. UMass Dartmouth, which will run the law program, quickly launched a school website. And supporters hastily draped a banner with the new school's name -- UMass School of Law at Dartmouth -- across the front of the Southern New England School of Law, which is donating its campus and assets to the state to create the new school.

But amid the hoopla at today's meeting, a reminder of the perils of taking victory for granted was also on display: Caps with the words "UMass Law School" on the front and "March, 31, 2005" on the back. That was the date the previous UMass effort to create a law school was soundly defeated.