COLUMBIA, S.C. — After apparently lot of crowing from fans, Sir Big Spur is keeping his name.
The University of South Carolina announced Thursday that the team’s live rooster mascot will retain his current name, instead of changing to “The General.” as was announced back on Monday.
“It was always preferred that we would stay with the ‘Sir Big Spur’ name,” said Deputy Athletics Director Eric Nichols. “I appreciate the passion that the owners, Mary Snelling and Ron Albertelli, and the new handlers Beth and Van Clark, have for the Gamecocks and the live mascot. We are pleased that we are starting the season with the same name as in year’s past.”
The name change was necessary because of a dispute between the current owners of the bird and the old ones. The school said they’d gotten legal advice to change the name.
The General was supposed to reference Gen. Thomas Sumter, the Revolutionary War hero nicknamed ‘The Gamecock’ who inspired the school’s athletics moniker in the first place.
Reaction to the name change was mixed. The school admitted they got feedback and that led to what they say was more dialogue with the owners of the mascot, who had rights to the name.
The school says the families and the administration had another conversation and found a solution that was in the best interest of the University and that respected the wishes of both families.
Sir Big Spur will be on the sidelines when the team opens its season Saturday night at Williams-Brice Stadium.