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Official Sports Report Exclusive: The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers - What's in a Name?

Aug. 30, 2008

By John Regenfuss
Commentary exclusive to the Penn State OSR

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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State's gridiron rivals include some of college football's most hallowed and historic programs - Ohio State, Michigan, Notre Dame, Coastal Carolina. Wait a minute. Who? OK, so the latter does not fit the profile of the former and while many believe the outcome of the Aug. 30 contest versus the Chanticleers is already assured in Penn State's favor, the match-up with the little-known southern university does add an air of intrigue to the start of what looks to be a very promising season for the Nittany Lions.

When the announcement came that the Nittany Lions would open the 2008 season against Division I-FCS Coastal Carolina, it raised a few eyebrows, as well as the ire of many fans. However, this article will not the focus on the debate over the merits or drawbacks of scheduling opponents that are perceived pushovers (I write "perceived" lest we forget Appalachian State). But it should be stated that such scheduling is rapidly becoming the norm rather than an oddity. This year, Wisconsin plays Cal Poly, Miami faces Charleston Southern, Florida has a late-season match-up with The Citadel, and Georgia opens with Georgia Southern.

My purpose for this article lies elsewhere. To most Penn State diehards, the Nittany Lions' kickoff weekend foe is a mystery, so let this article serve to answer some of the inevitable questions that have and will arise. Let it serve as a primer for all things Coastal Carolina and a preview, of sorts, for the late August game at Beaver Stadium.

According to its website, "Coastal Carolina University is a dynamic, public comprehensive liberal arts institution." Founded in 1954, becoming an independent university in 1993, it's located in Conway, S.C., population 11,788. The city, which is nestled on the banks of the Waccamaw River, has numerous buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places and boasts a City Hall designed by Robert Mills, architect of the Washington Monument. Coastal Carolina's student population numbers 7,800, a far cry from Penn State's 42,000-plus enrollment total, and offers baccalaureate programs in 40 fields. What's attractive about the university is what makes real estate lucrative - location, location, location. While Coastal Carolina is somewhat of a misnomer because it is situated inland, it is just 20 minutes from the southern seaside paradise of Myrtle Beach.

Whereas the specs of the university are nothing extraordinary, other than its near-ideal locale, the nickname of its athletic teams, the Chanticleers, qualifies as nothing short of unusual. First, let's begin with proper pronunciation - it's SHON-ti-clear or SHONTS, for short. Now to address to the obvious question, what is a Chanticleer? Again, according to the CCU website, "Chanticleer comes from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. More specifically, he comes from the Nun's Priest Tale, a story within Canterbury Tales. The Chanticleer is a proud and fierce rooster who dominates the barnyard...He uses his great wit, knowledge, and cunning to come out on top every time." The nickname was adopted in the 1960s when a group of students wanted to shed the school's old moniker, the Trojans, in order to more closely relate itself to the University of South Carolina's Gamecock. In the spirit of good-natured adversarial ribbing, the current version of the Chanticleer logo looks a bit like an angry rendering of Foghorn Leghorn of Looney Tunes fame. Coastal's uniform colors are teal, gold, and black, reminiscent of the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars.

Yes, Coastal Carolina does have a football team, but a Nittany Lion fan can't be blamed for not knowing it. After all, relative to Penn State's storied history, CCU is a fledgling program, having only started playing in 2003. Even its conference, the Big South, is a newcomer to football, first sponsoring the sport in 2002. Under their only head coach, David Bennett, success has come quickly for the Chanticleers, though. In five seasons, Coastal has compiled a 39-17 record and won at least a share of three conference championships. In 2006, the Chants made their first postseason appearance, falling in the first round to eventual national champion Appalachian State. The Chanticleers are coming off a down year, however, posting a 5-6 record in 2007. Their game with Penn State is the Chants first-ever versus a Bowl Championship Series team.

Coastal has produced two NFL draft picks, receiver Jerome Simpson in 2008 (second round, Cincinnati Bengals) and quarterback Tyler Thigpen in 2007 (seventh round, Minnesota Vikings). Simpson is the Big South's all-time leading receiver in yards (2,720) and touchdowns (44). Thigpen, now with Kansas City, is expected to push former Alabama star Brodie Croyle for the Chiefs' starting quarterback position this season.

So, here is Coastal Carolina in a nutshell - the school's enrollment is roughly 1/5 of Penn State's, it's located coastally but not on the coast, a Chanticleer is a rooster with literary roots, the football program is in its infancy, and its 2008 season opener against Penn State is the biggest game in school history to date. For the Nittany Lion faithful, a contest with Coastal Carolina doesn't and never will stir the same emotions as clashes with Michigan or Ohio State, but it will be the first Penn State home game in nine months and will kick off a highly anticipated season full of great expectations - what could be more exciting than that?


-NITTANY LIONS--



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