Bedazzled Mystery: Who Made the Wolfpack’s Belt?
A red, silver and black belt was a big hit on social media Tuesday night in the wake of the NC State men’s basketball team’s 82-58 victory over rival North Carolina.
The questions began to rumble late Tuesday night almost immediately after the NC State men’s basketball team beat No. 16 rival North Carolina, 82-58, at the Lenovo Center: “Who bedazzled the Wolfpack’s belt?”
It was in reference to a sparkly strip of leather worn by senior Jordan Snell that he wrapped around the neck of teammate Ven-Allen Lubin in the postgame press conference. It was an intentional reference to Tar Heel freshman Caleb Wilson, who went viral last summer on social media by saying his team was going to “put the belt on everybody.”
When asked, the players said the Wolfpack belt was made by someone in the Wilson College of Textiles. But who?
There was a secrecy behind the red, silver and black belt, the existence of which was known only to first-year head basketball coach Will Wade’s personal assistant and the student selected, under a vow of silence, to make it. The assistant, Reed Vial, pulled it out of his locker in the bowels of the Lenovo Center to give to the players only after the final seconds ticked off the clock Tuesday evening. They spent the next several hours posing with it and sharing photos on various social media sites.
Wednesday morning, Wilson College of Textiles communicators asked on Instagram to identify the student who spent 10 or so days secretly designing and creating the sparkly icon.
Here’s the answer: Kayla Bigley, a senior from Matthews, North Carolina, who has an academic and athletic CV longer than the belt itself. She’s majoring in fashion and textile management, with a concentration in fashion development and product management and a minor in religious studies. She’s also a member of the NC State cheer team.
She was selected from the 50 or so textiles students who responded to Vial’s Instagram post in late January seeking someone to make a belt that could outshine the one UNC’s Wilson put on display in the preseason on social media and after Tar Heel wins over Kansas and Duke.
“I guess I was the one who caught his attention, and the first thing he asked me was, ‘Have you ever bedazzled anything?’” says Bigley, who watched Tuesday’s game from the upper level of the arena. “I have, so I just started researching what it might look like.
“The only instructions I had was ‘whatever looks best.’”
Bigley’s belt is an original design made with about 2,000 Swarovski-style crystals. She hopes it becomes worthy of being a good-luck charm for the men’s team for the rest of the season, similar to the red dog bone once given to defensive players on NC State’s football team after forcing a turnover.
It’s hardly the first time one of NC State’s colleges has contributed to athletics: The College of Design has played a significant role in developing various iterations of the university’s logos and mascots, Wilson College of Textiles has produced tapestries and textile products throughout its 125-year history and the College of Engineering designed and produced the old noise meter that once hung in the rafters of Reynolds Coliseum, just to name a few.
The Wolfpack players loved their handmade charm, especially when Snell draped it in front of the media around the shoulders of Lubin, who played at UNC last season.
“It was a Ven day,” said teammate Quadir Copeland.
Of course, since no one knew it existed, no one would have ever known about Bigley’s hard work if the outcome of Tuesday’s game had been different.
“If we hadn’t won the game, no one would have ever seen it,” Vial says.
