Cocky’s Reading Express will be rolling into Tampa for the Outback Bowl, with University of South Carolina student volunteers, staff members and Cocky ready to distribute 1,000 free books to children around the city.

The bus, which features a larger-than-life graphic of the USC mascot, will be part of the Outback Bowl Parade through Ybor City on New Year’s Eve. Cocky and student volunteers, armed with bags of books for young readers, will march alongside.

“Instead of candy or beads, we’ll be handing books to children along the parade route and afterward at the pep rally,” said Kim Jeffcoat, director of Cocky’s Reading Express, the popular literacy program that provides quality books to children, along with visits from USC student volunteers and the Carolina mascot.

The nation’s first college mascot program of its kind has given out more than 50,000 free books since it was launched by USC’s Student Government in 2005.

The Outback Bowl Parade begins at 5:30 p.m. Dec. 31 along 7th Avenue in Ybor City. It will feature floats and 20 marching bands. The parade will be followed by a pep rally with the college bands and cheerleaders.