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Why Aren’t More K-Pop Idols Wearing Big 5 Basketball Gear?
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If you’re a dad with daughters in 2026, you’ve probably watched KPop Demon Hunters at least three, four, or five hundred times. My oldest was one of at least 50 girls at her elementary school to dress up as “Rumi” for Halloween, in a coordinated effort to seal the Honmoon.
We started listening to the movie soundtrack on Spotify. There’s this girl group called “Twice” with a random song on there, and it’s a total banger. So we willingly succumbed to the algorithmic rabbit hole of Twice and Blackpink and Aespa and all of those groups, and I gotta tell you – I don’t hate it!* Korea’s pop may be better than our pop, even if we only understand half of the words.
We’ve been watching these music videos and live videos and all kinds of random YouTube stuff, and stumbled upon this:
What’s that on the right? A Villanova Final Four tank top? Sure is! Talk about unexpected.
There doesn’t appear to be any sort of actual connection to Wildcat hoops here. Why would there be? It looks like the Twice members were just wearing sporty-looking stuff in this 2024 live video. One is donning an Argentina jersey, others baseball and whatnot. You see the typical Yankees hats and Dodgers jerseys in international fashion, but it’s funny to see Villanova in the mix. I guess they were right up there in popularity when they won those titles back in 2016 and 2018, but we’d never really put the Wildcats in the mix with other frontrunner/poser type international brands like the Lakers, Yanks, Dodgers, Cowboys, etc.
I checked with Grok just to be certain:
It’s almost certainly just a stylish stage/stylist choice for a sporty concept, not a personal connection.
Looking at the image, the stage has hanging baseball-style jerseys in the background under blue lighting, and the three members (Dahyun on the right, plus the others) are in coordinated athletic/crop-top looks. The left one has an “03,” the middle one has a red-and-white sports-style top, and Dahyun’s navy crop top clearly shows Villanova branding and logo. This points to a sports- or baseball-themed performance, variety segment, or special stage where the outfits were picked for that energetic, preppy athletic vibe.
College sports apparel (especially from recognizable programs like Villanova, known for strong basketball history and a clean navy aesthetic) is a common fashion pick in K-pop styling for sporty concepts. It reads as casual, bold, and stage-friendly without needing a deep backstory. There’s no public info linking Dahyun to Villanova—she’s Korean, attended Hanlim Multi Art School, and has no known US college ties, family connection, or stated fandom for the school or team.
In short, the stylist likely grabbed (or designed something inspired by) Villanova gear because the color, logo, and crop-top cut worked for the overall sports-themed look and stage lighting. It’s the kind of random-but-cool Western sports merch that shows up in idol outfits all the time for pure aesthetics.
More importantly, what does this mean for the future of the Big 5? Is this why Villanova is leaving? Why aren’t K-Pop idols wearing St. Joe’s, La Salle, Penn, Drexel, or Temple gear? Somebody do a Modell’s run and get in touch with BTS management.
HUNTRIX GIRLS TO THE WORLD!
*my algorithm is all sorts of screwed up now, it basically just alternates between K-Pop and death metal, like it will go from Blackpink directly into Suffocation and Immolation
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com