Will Privette and Student Body President, Andy Walsh, hold up the new “Roll Pack” shirts." />
COURTESY OF WILL PRIVETTE
Will Privette and Student Body President, Andy Walsh, hold up the new “Roll Pack” shirts.
In light of the postgame event when Will Privette, a paraplegic student, was knocked from his wheelchair as students stormed the court after beating the Duke basketball team, one student designed a shirt to commemorate the occasion.
Graphic design student Aaron Picart designed the shirts, which read “Roll Pack” and feature one person pushing another person in a wheelchair.
The shirts are available both online and in the bookstore. Revenue from increasing sales goes to We Connect Now, a campus support group for students with disabilities, as well as to students for merit and need-based scholarships.
Picart designed the shirts after the State-Duke game in which Student Body President Andy Walsh wheeled Privette to the middle of the court. Other students stormed the court accordingly but knocked Privette out of his wheelchair and nearly trampled him. Basketball team member C.J. Leslie picked him up and continued to celebrate the victory.
The shirts made their appearance Sunday, Jan. 13 on the website, ncsugiantheads.com, before the “Roll Pack” trademark was licensed.
Gregg Zarnstorff, director of trademark licensing at Campus Enterprises, the University’s division of retail and hospitality services, contacted Picart about the design.
According to Alex Barnett, the marketing and promotions manager at Campus Enterprises, Picart just wanted to raise money for Privette’s wheelchair. However, once students had raised the funds necessary for the wheelchair, he decided to continue selling the shirts to raise funds and awareness for students with disabilities.
On Wednesday, Jan. 16, distributors started selling the shirts. They sold out within two days.
Privette said he was amazed at the speed in which the incident was spread and so quickly transformed into a marketable trademark.
According to Zarnstorff, the large demand for the shirts led them to produce about 2,800 within the first five days of sale.
Two dollars from each T-shirt sold goes to We Connect Now. According to Barnett, online and bookstore sales have reached about 3,000 shirts, bringing in about $6,000 for the organization.
“Future sales depend on many factors,” Barnett said, “primarily continued interest.”
All excess revenues earned from Campus Enterprises go toward funding for merit and need-based scholarships, as well as toward paying students who work on campus. The organization donated $1,187,367 for scholarships last year and more than $3.3 million since 2009.