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Chanticleer

Football aamu sports info

So, what's a Chanticleer, you ask?

NORMAL – After a big Homecoming win last Saturday over Arkansas-Pine Bluff, the Bulldogs take on the No.1 team in the Football Championship Subdivision this Saturday – the Coastal Carolina University Chanticleers.

It's Homecoming for the Chanticleers. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. (ET) and … oh, what is a Chanticleer you ask?

Apparently, that is the number one question asked of the Coastal Carolina Department of Athletics.

And, according to the Coastal Department of Athletics, the second most-asked question is "How do you pronounce your nickname?"

According to goccusports.com, Chanticleer comes from Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales." More specifically, it comes from the "Nun's Priest Tale," a story within "Canterbury Tales." The Chanticleer is a proud and fierce rooster who rules the barnyard with cunning and wit. His competitiveness never wanes as he battles to the end, using his brains to come out on top every time.

The school adopted the mascot in the early 1960s when a group of students and their English professor brought up the idea of a new mascot. At the time, Coastal's teams were known as the Trojans.

With the school serving as a two-year branch of the University of South Carolina at the time, many people began to push for a nickname that was more closely related to the USC Gamecocks. Chanticleer was then created and has since become one of the most unique mascots in collegiate athletics. On July 1, 1993, USC-Coastal Carolina College became Coastal Carolina University by splitting from the branch system of the University of South Carolina.

To answer the second question: The proper pronunciation is SHON-ti-clear. Coastal's teams are also referred to as the Chants (SHONTS), shortening the nickname.

The mascot's name is Chauncey, named for Geoffrey Chaucer, the author of "The Canterbury Tales."

 
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