Since 1999, Sir Big Spur could be seen keeping watch over South Carolina athletics. In 2006, the live mascot began attending Gamecocks football games from his perch in the North end zone of Williams-Brice Stadium (with the exception of the COVID season, when the SEC banned live mascots.)
While the beloved mascot will remain on the sideline at every Gamecocks home game, the bird will now do so under a new name.
Before the Gamecocks kick off the 2022 season, a new name will be announced by the University, a result of a dispute between the former and current owners of Sir Big Spur.
According to a report by David Cloninger of the Post and Courrier, the previous owners of Sir Big Spur, Mary Snelling and Ron Albertelli, woud clip the bright red combs of the roosters playing the role of Sir Big Spur, in order to give them a look more closely resembling that of a fighting bird.
The combs are part of the temperature regulation system of the chickens, releasing heat from the animals' body, as chickens cannot sweat. However, the combs also contain blood vessels, meaning if cut, they can bleed. In bird fighting circles, the combs are trimmed to prevent blood loss.
Snelling and Albertelli clipped the combs in order to make them look more like a traditional fighting gamecock.
The new owners, however, do not feel the same way about the look.
In 2019, Beth and Van Clark took over the role of caretakers of the birds that would eventually stand next to the team on the gridiron.
The Clarks have elected not to trim the combs of the birds they own, citing health concerns for the animals standing out in the sun during late season baseball games and early season football games.
Albertelli signed a contract with USC allowing the University, which does not own the bird, to use the name Sir Big Spur. The contract ran out on August 1st, and due to the dispute, Albertelli will not renew it or let the Clarks use the name.
In the above linked article, Albertelli is quoted as saying "Whenever a new coach goes to a school that's been struggling, you always hear a statement similar to 'you've got to change the culture.' I don't know what culture in our day and age means, but if it means making a gamecock look like a chicken, or not hurting him because it might make the chicken feel good, it's not preserving what we've built. This is dumbing down our culture. This is going to look like Barney the barnyard rooster."
USC has already announced they plan on continuing to use the live mascot, but have not yet decided on what the name will be, or how they'll select one. Whatever it ends up being, the newly named bird will still, as it has for years past, be roosting amidst fans at Willy B.