Tennessee Technological University, popularly known as Tennessee Tech, is an accredited public university located in Cookeville, Tennessee, a small city approximately eighty miles east of Nashville. It was formerly known as Tennessee Polytechnic Instititute, and, before that as Dixie College, the name under which it was founded in 1916. It places special emphasis on undergraduate education in fields related to engineering and technology, although degrees in education, liberal arts, and other fields of study can be pursued as well. Additionally, there are limited graduate offerings. It is operated by the Tennessee Board of Regents, and its athletic teams which compete in the Ohio Valley Conference.