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The McNeese State Cowboys have been a popular upset pick for the men's March Madness tournament. After all, they are red-hot right now, having won 11 straight games heading into the tournament, the third-longest active win streak of any team participating in March Madness. Furthermore, they've covered in both of their games as underdogs this year. Sure, it's a small sample size, but two instances is enough to be considered a pattern.
The biggest reason, however, why so many people are backing McNeese might be because of their student manager, who is going viral at the moment.
Armed with a boom box, immaculate taste in music, and maxed out charisma, Amir "Aura" Khan has made history by becoming the first student manager to earn an NIL deal of his own. But it isn't just one company that wants a piece of Aura's aura. He's landing multiple brand deals.
Men's March Madness games today: Breaking down Thursday's NCAA Tournament matchups
Khan's first NIL deal came with a company called TickPick, an online marketplace where people can buy and/or sell tickets. Khan was TickPick's first NIL signing.
Per CBS Sports, as part of the deal with TickPick, Khan will actually earn more money the more McNeese wins in the NCAA Tournament. That only makes sense. After all, the more McNeese wins, the more national recognition they will get, the more Khan will be shown on camera, and the more TickPick will be advertised in turn.
However, since then, Khan's legend has grown astronomically, with other, more well-known companies joining the fray as well.
As you can see in the post above, Khan has also signed deals with Insomnia Cookies and Buffalo Wild Wings. The latter is an enormous pull for a student manager. B-Dubs outfitted Khan with a brand new boom box as the team learned where they would be seeded in March Madness.
It was tradition for Khan to play music on his boom box as he led McNeese out of the tunnel and onto the court. However, Khan's icon status really started building when junior guard DJ Richards Jr., who picks out the walkout song for each game, finally picked a song that Khan already knew the words to − Lud Foe's "In & Out" − ahead of their tilt against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in late February.
Khan instinctively started rapping the lyrics, which came as a shock to many of the McNeese State players. Richards was arguably the most shocked. When recalling the moment, he said, "Not too many people know Lud Foe 'In & Out,' and for Amir to start singing it, it definitely turned me up."
The moment was captured by Phillip Mitchell Jr., an assistant AD for creative media at McNeese, who had the video posted to social media just a few days later. And the rest was history. Khan has become the biggest star on a star-studded McNeese basketball team.
March Madness bracket 2025: AI picks every men's NCAA Tournament game winner
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: McNeese student manager 'Aura' may just take over March Madness
Continue reading...
The biggest reason, however, why so many people are backing McNeese might be because of their student manager, who is going viral at the moment.
Armed with a boom box, immaculate taste in music, and maxed out charisma, Amir "Aura" Khan has made history by becoming the first student manager to earn an NIL deal of his own. But it isn't just one company that wants a piece of Aura's aura. He's landing multiple brand deals.
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Men's March Madness games today: Breaking down Thursday's NCAA Tournament matchups
Amir Khan's brand deals
Khan's first NIL deal came with a company called TickPick, an online marketplace where people can buy and/or sell tickets. Khan was TickPick's first NIL signing.
Per CBS Sports, as part of the deal with TickPick, Khan will actually earn more money the more McNeese wins in the NCAA Tournament. That only makes sense. After all, the more McNeese wins, the more national recognition they will get, the more Khan will be shown on camera, and the more TickPick will be advertised in turn.
However, since then, Khan's legend has grown astronomically, with other, more well-known companies joining the fray as well.
As you can see in the post above, Khan has also signed deals with Insomnia Cookies and Buffalo Wild Wings. The latter is an enormous pull for a student manager. B-Dubs outfitted Khan with a brand new boom box as the team learned where they would be seeded in March Madness.
How did Khan's McNeese legacy begin?
It was tradition for Khan to play music on his boom box as he led McNeese out of the tunnel and onto the court. However, Khan's icon status really started building when junior guard DJ Richards Jr., who picks out the walkout song for each game, finally picked a song that Khan already knew the words to − Lud Foe's "In & Out" − ahead of their tilt against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in late February.
Khan instinctively started rapping the lyrics, which came as a shock to many of the McNeese State players. Richards was arguably the most shocked. When recalling the moment, he said, "Not too many people know Lud Foe 'In & Out,' and for Amir to start singing it, it definitely turned me up."
The moment was captured by Phillip Mitchell Jr., an assistant AD for creative media at McNeese, who had the video posted to social media just a few days later. And the rest was history. Khan has become the biggest star on a star-studded McNeese basketball team.
March Madness bracket 2025: AI picks every men's NCAA Tournament game winner
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: McNeese student manager 'Aura' may just take over March Madness
Continue reading...
