South Carolina’s live rooster mascot is about to debut a name change.
A new alias for the mascot formerly known as Sir Big Spur will be announced sometime between now and when the Gamecocks kick off the season Sept. 3 against Georgia State, the university confirmed to The State.
Why a name change? It boils down to a disagreement between the bird’s original owners — Mary Snelling and Ron Albertelli — and the new owners, Beth and Van Clark, over whether or not the animal’s “comb” on its head should be trimmed.
According to a report from The (Charleston) Post & Courier, the original owners trimmed the rooster’s comb — the red, fleshy area on its head — to make the bird look more like a fighting Gamecock. The Clarks have opted to keep the comb intact, citing the health benefits to the bird.
An agreement with the original owners allowing the use of the Sir Big Spur name has expired. USC is guiding the process to select a new name.
The Clarks, for now, have changed the Twitter handle of the rooster simply to “mascot.” The new name won’t be Big Spur, which was the name used for USC’s costumed mascot in the pre-1980s and before the creation of Cocky.
The university’s legal team “advised against using an old name ‘Big Spur,’ which was suggested by many fans, due to its close relationship to Sir Big Spur, which is not owned by the University,” USC marketing director Eric Nichols told The State.
