South Carolina announces resolution with Sir Big Spur mascot

The hubbub over what to call South Carolina’s live rooster mascot has become one of those quintessential college football sideshows. And on Thursday, a happy ending was written when the school announced a resolution that will allow the continued use of the “Sir Big Spur” moniker that accompanies the rooster.

At the core of this to-do was a dispute over the use of the name “Sir Big Spur” for the rooster after new handlers, Beth and Van Clark, took some issue with how the owners had cared for the rooster. That led to the withholding of the use of the classic name for the strutting bird that Gamecock fans have grown accustomed to at sporting events.

“It was always preferred that we would stay with the ‘Sir Big Spur’ name,” deputy athletics director Eric Nichols said in the announcement. “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 school undertook efforts to come up with a new name and eventually settled on “The General” three days ago. That name was an homage to American Revolutionary War General Thomas Sumter, who himself was nicknamed the “Fighting Gamecock.”

There was a brief movement to name the bird “Cock Commander” after that nickname was included in a poll put out by The Columbia State. Apparently that nickname originated from the South Carolina student paper when a placeholder cutline containing the phrase was accidentally published.

Despite winning the hearts and minds of college football fans online, “Cock Commander” did not triumph — though it is only a matter of time before T-shirts with “Yo soy el Cock Commander” are being sold outside of Williams-Brice Stadium.

But all will be well now in Columbia since Sir Big Spur can keep his name. He’ll be on the sideline for South Carolina’s opener on Saturday night.