Rule change allows South Carolina to play rooster crow sound effect during SEC games

The SEC has relaxed its prohibition on playing recorded music between plays during football games, according to Georgia athletics director Greg McGarity. Though it probably falls outside of the scope of what a reasonable person would consider music, South Carolina was not previously allowed, during SEC play, to play the rooster crow sound effect that can be heard during non-conference contests at Williams-Brice Stadium. The new rule will change that.

"If you need to get people revved up for a big third-down play, you can do that," McGarity said. "You could always do it with your band, but now you can do it any way you want to. You still have to stop once the quarterback gets over the ball, gets under the center or in the shotgun."

McGarity said the SEC has relaxed its rules on playing music over the stadium sound system that should give Georgia the same kind of environment during the game as the Bulldogs saw in last year's season-opener at ACC member Clemson.

Last year against ACC opponents like North Carolina and Clemson, South Carolina rallied fans on third down by blasting the rooster crow through the public address system but would have incurred a fine for doing the same thing during any of its four SEC home games. The rule change means you'll likely hear the sound of livestock welcoming Texas A&M's third down offense in a manner befitting the rising sun when the Aggies come to Columbia on Aug. 28.

A negative consequence of the rule change might be that the marching band gets a smaller slice of the in-game music pie. When we spoke with South Carolina's director of athletic bands in Oct. 2012, she expressed concern over a diminished role for the band as a result of Sandstorm's increasing prominence. While the rooster crow will be an exciting addition to the SEC game atmosphere, the new rule might also create an opportunity for the likes of Macklemore, Imagine Dragons, and Hillsong United to crowd out The Mighty Sound of the Southeast.