Making the world safe for coachspeak, one step at a time

I know you’ll be as relieved as I am to learn that another trite marketing expression is being preserved for the greater benefit of mankind.

Since the beginning of his tenure at South Carolina, head football coach Will Muschamp has used the phrase “Spurs Up” to signal new prospect commitments or as a general rallying cry for the fan base.

Muschamp has credited his wife, Carol, with thinking of the phrase. Since then, “Spurs Up” has been an integral part of the lexicon for USC fans on social media . Muschamp’s Gamecock Club speaking engagements were branded as the “Spurs Up Tour” and the football staff’s most significant recruiting events are labeled as “Spurs Up Day”.

Now, the university will look to protect the brand further with a trademark of the phrase. USC first filed for a trademark through the United States Patent and Trademark Office in March of 2016.

“Once Coach Muschamp started using it in earnest, we wanted to start to protect it,” said Eric Nichols, who is the Senior Associate Athletics Director for Marketing & Branding/CMO at USC.

Man, that’s a relief.  What a load off my mind…