Bowling Green State University, often referred to as Bowling Green, BGSU,or just BG, is a public university located in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The -acre ( ha) main academic and residential campus is located miles ( km) south of Toledo, Ohio. The institution was granted a charter in 1910 as a normal school, specializing in teacher training and education, as part of the Lowry Normal School Bill that authorized two new normal schools in the state of Ohio. Over the university's history, it developed from a small rural normal school into a comprehensive public university.