South Carolina Rooster Mascot Getting New Name over Dispute Between Owners

The live rooster mascot on the sidelines of South Carolina games will get a name change after a dispute between the old and new owners, per David Cloninger of the Post and Courier.

Sir Big Spur has been a fixture at Gamecocks sporting events for over a decade, debuting at baseball games in 1999 and football games in 2006. Mary Snelling and her husband, Ron Albertelli, introduced the mascot and owned each of the first six iterations of the mascot.

Beth and Van Clark, alums of the University of South Carolina, were chosen to take over the duties, although they have a different approach regarding the treatment of the roosters and specifically the "comb" on top of the bird's head.

Snelling and Albertelli removed the red, fleshy area to better resemble the Gamecock. The new owners would prefer to keep the comb as is.

Van Clark said:

"We raised these gamecocks to be mascots. The mascot needs to be, I feel, branded with the university. We also want the birds to be as healthy as possible. When the combs are off, they can’t handle heat as well. These birds are raised to be mascots, and at many games, the heat is nearly unbearable. We want to keep the mascot healthy. That's our job now."

The disagreement means Albertelli won't allow the Clarks to use the trademarked name.

There will still be a live rooster on the sidelines for South Carolina's home opener against Georgia State on Sept. 3, but it will have a new name thanks to the latest dispute.