What is a Flagship University?

<p>Sorry to be so uninformed, but can someone define Flagship University?</p>

<p>State colleges or University of ____'s that have more than one campus will generally have one that is better than the others. For example the University of Wisconsin has many schools in many cities such as La Crosse, Eau Claire, Millwaukee etc. Their Flagship is the UW-Madison. Madison is the hardest school to get in and is consequently the most prestigious in the system. Therefore Michigan has Ann Arbor, North Carolina has Chapel Hill, and California has Berkeley. (They actually seem to have multiple flagships because of UCLA and even San Diego.)</p>

<p>Doesnt flagship also refer to the state, i.e. University of North Carolina is the flagship university of the state of NC?</p>