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University of South Carolina Nickname - "Fighting Gamecocks" The University of South Carolina is the only NCAA Division I athletic program in the country that uses "Fighting Gamecocks" as its official nickname and mascot. The University's athletic teams have been known as Gamecocks for more than 90 years. At the turn of the century, after struggling for more than a decade under numerous nicknames, the school's football team was first referred to unofficially as "Game Cocks." In 1903, Columbia's morning newspaper, The State, shortened the name to one word and South Carolina teams have been Gamecocks ever since. A gamecock, of course, is a fighting rooster known for its spirit and courage. A cock fight, which was a popular sport throughout the United States in the 19th century, would last until the death of one of the combatants. Cock fighting has been outlawed by most states due to increased sensitivity to the treatment and welfare of animals , but it is still held surreptitiously in many areas. In the past, the state of South Carolina had long been closely connected with the breeding and training of fighting gamecocks. In fact, General Thomas Sumter, famed guerilla fighter of the Revolutionary War, was known as "The Fighting Gamecock." To read more about this subject, click on: http://www.sc.edu/usc/gamecock.html School Colors - "Garnet and Black" Although no one is quite sure of the process behind how the colors were chosen, Garnet and Black were adopted near the turn of the century as the official colors of the University of South Carolina athletic teams since they are the dominant ones on the gamecock, the University's official mascot for its athletic teams. The colors were first mentioned in print as early as 1892 and were fully accepted by the time the first annual student yearbook was published in 1899. How can we tell the colors were accepted by that time? The name of the yearbook was, as it is still today, the "Garnet and Black".
School Mascot - "Cocky"
The University of South Carolina's official mascot is "Cocky." The garnet and black plumed gamecock captured national championship titles as the number one mascot in 1986 and 1994. Cocky once again captured the national championship title as the 2003 Capital One National Mascot of the Year. Prior to Cocky, there was no official mascot. Occassionally, live roosters would be escorted to the field by female "Sponsors" (usually, girlfriends of the team captain or student organization president). Sometimes, the "mascot" consisted of nothing more than a sudent wearing a dark robe and a rooster head of some kind. In the 1970's, Carolina had "Big Spur", a tall, skinny, stern looking, rooster with a huge tail somewhat resembling the tail of the rooster on the official logo (introduced by former Athletic Director Paul Dietzel).
During Homecoming in 1980, "Cocky" was introduced as the "son of Big Spur". Not a hit at first, Cocky has now grown to be loved and adored by Gamecock fans, both young and old, around the world. Cocky can be seen entertaining fans at most South Carolina athletic events. If you don't see him, don't worry. Just listen for the familiar shout from the excited children upon seeing him - "There's COCKY!!!" Most of the information on this page is courtesy of the Annual Media Guide with additional information obtained from the following sources:
Creating Cocky by John Hammond Moore, Sandlapper Magazine, Winter 2004-2005 |
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