Online dictionary search for ‘Chanticleer’ trends after championship
What is a Chanticleer?
That’s what people from all over the country were trying to find out after Coastal Carolina University took the national championship in the College World Series on June 30.
According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, searches for “Chanticleer” spiked after the victory.
A chanticleer is a type of rooster, as detailed in Merriam-Webster.
Chanticleer was also the name of a rooster in Geoffrey Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales.”
Riding through Conway like a BOSS. Good times, good times. pic.twitter.com/XWC9sm1pI4
— Chauncey Chanticleer (@ChaunceyCCU) July 12, 2016
The team became known as the “Chanticleers” in 1963, when the basketball team coached by English teacher Cal Maddox chose the name, according to university spokeswoman Martha Hunn.
Hunn said the student newspaper at the time was called “The Chanticleer” before the team, formerly known as the Trojans, got their new name.
Hunn said that Maddox was quoted in a 2002 CCU Alumni Magazine article as saying “the name stuck like glue.”
The mascot’s nickname, “Chauncey” was probably an abbreviation of the team mascot, she said.
Christian Boschult, 843-626-0218, @TSN_Christian
This story was originally published July 13, 2016 at 6:03 PM with the headline "Online dictionary search for ‘Chanticleer’ trends after championship."