What is a Chanticleer? Coastal Carolina's mascot explained

USA Today

2 days ago

With the College World Series having kicked off its round of regional tournaments on Friday, the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers are one of the hosts.
But what is a Chanticleer?
The name comes from a rooster character in a Middle Age fable that was eventually widely popularized in "The Canterbury Tales," Geoffrey Chaucer's 14th century short story anthology that had a marked impact on English literature in the centuries since.
Coastal Carolina, which originally dubbed its sports teams the Trojans, adopted the new moniker in the early 1960s, when it transitioned from being a regional community college to an extension of the University of South Carolina. To make its teams' nickname more in-line with South Carolina's "Gamecocks" – also a rooster – what was then known as USC Coastal Carolina College changed its mascot to the Chanticleer.
COLLEGE WORLD SERIES: Regional host sites for NCAA baseball tournament bracket
After Coastal Carolina ended its connection with the University of South Carolina and became an independent university, it held onto the Chanticleer nickname.
Here's everything you need to know about what a Chanticleer is:
What is a Chanticleer?
Chanticleer was the name of a rooster featured as the main character of "The Nun's Priest's Tale," a portion of Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales."
In "The Nun's Priest's Tale," Chanticleer has a dream that he is going to be caught and killed by a fox. After waking in a panic, the rooster is eventually consoled by one of his wives. But Chanticleer's dream was one of clairvoyance; he encounters a fox waiting for him in a cabbage patch, and the wily animal convinces the prideful Chanticleer to show off his crow with his eyes closed and neck outstretched.
As Chanticleer closes his eyes, the fox snatches him by the neck and runs off. But Chanticleer, a witty animal in his own right, plays up to the fox's pride and convinces it to tell the pursuers to give up. As soon as the fox opens its mouth to boast of its speed to the animals giving chase, Chanticleer escapes its jaws and hides.
2025 COLLEGE WORLD SERIES: Tournament bracket winners and losers start with SEC
College World Series Conway regional schedule
Dates: Friday, May 30 - Monday, June 2
Friday, May 30 - Monday, June 2 Teams: Coastal Carolina, Florida, East Carolina and Fairfield
Friday, May 30
Game 1: East Carolina vs. Florida | Noon ET
Game 2: Fairfield vs. Coastal Carolina | 6 p.m. ET
Saturday, May 31
Game 3: Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser | Noon ET
Game 4: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner | 6 p.m. ET
Sunday, June 1
Game 5: Game 4 loser vs. Game 3 winner | Noon ET
Game 6: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner | 6 p.m. ET
Monday, June 2
Game 7 (if necessary for double elimination): Game 6 winner vs. Game 6 loser | TBA