Red Jackets Not Just for Lowe as Pack Students Adopt Attire

Sidney Lowe has been known to wear a red sports coat to select ACC games, but he’s not the only Wolfpacker in that attire.

Some N.C. State students have begun selling red jackets as a way to raise money for the V Foundation for Cancer Research.

Ben Mazur is the co-creator of Sid’s Suits, an unofficial student organization that sells red blazers to students to benefit the foundation inspired by former Wolfpack coach Jim Valvano, who died of cancer in 1993.

According to co-creator Ted Cotter, the organization began with a single red jacket.

“Last year, a buddy of mine named Joseph bought a red blazer to go to parties just because it was an obnoxious color and he would stand out,” he said. “I always thought that it would be cool to wear it out to a State game.”

Six months later, Mazur approached Cotter with an idea of wearing red blazers to the Pack’s home games to imitate Lowe. The pair decided to spread the word to as many students as possible, and the concept for Sid’s Suit’s was born. Soon, a marketing firm, based in Raleigh, heard about the organization’s intentions and offered to sell the blazers to students at a discounted rate.

The jackets are priced at $45 for students and $99 for the general public. They can be purchased online at myteamcoat.com. A portion of all sales is donated to the Jimmy V Foundation and Cotter said that the organization does not intend to make a profit.

“We didn’t want to act like salespeople,” he said. “We don’t want to make money off this.”

After the pair secured the blazers and devised a name for the organization, they had to spread the idea to students. So they contacted Greg Doucette, NCSU’s student Senate president, to help publicize their cause.

“I’m trying to get them in a position so that further down the road, we can do bigger things with the group,” Doucette said. “When the N.C. State ended up going as far as they did [in the ACC Tournament] last year, it got me hyped up about Wolfpack basketball again. I wanted to make sure we had as much weight behind it as possible, to see if we can maybe turn it into one of those N.C. State traditions.”

The organization has used Facebook to recruit. So far, more than 250 members have joined the Facebook group Sid’s Suits and more than 60 coats have been sold.

In addition to the backing of student government, Mazur said the organization has caught the eye of the man that inspired it.

“I’ve talked with Sidney Lowe and he loves it,” Mazur said. He’s glad that he was able to inspire a student program.”

The creators are planning several events to help promote Sid’s Suit’s and recruit more students. A website, sidsuits.org, is in development. Before every home game, the organization will be tailgating and selling plates of food to benefit the Jimmy V foundation. They also plan to make their presence know during the student campout for UNC tickets on Feb. 8. Additionally, Mazur hopes to debut a slew of red blazers at Reynolds Coliseum for the Hoops for Hopes women’s basketball game.

Doucette said the ultimate goal for Sid’s Suits is to help create one of the best stadium atmospheres in the ACC.