Elevate your local knowledge

Sign up for the iNFOnews newsletter today!

Select Region

Selecting your primary region ensures you get the stories that matter to you first.

McNeese’s boom box-carrying student manager Amir ‘Aura’ Khan runs it back in March Madness

McNeese's boom box-carrying student manager Amir 'Aura' Khan runs it back in March Madness | iNFOnews.ca
McNeese basketball manager Amir “Aura” Khan greets a fan during the first half against Vanderbilt in the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Thursday, March 19, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Kyle Phillips)

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The student manager with the highest Q rating in college basketball was back, this time for just one game.

Amir “Aura” Khan turned into a social media star during last year’s March Madness for leading McNeese out of the locker room carrying his giant, yellow, thumping boom box. The exposure from McNeese’s two games in the tournament earned him more than a dozen name, image and likeness deals.

Khan was back on the big stage this week, but his stay was shorter. The 12th-seeded Cowboys were knocked out of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday, losing 78-68 to Vanderbilt.

Khan had planned to be a student manager at N.C. State after former McNeese coach Will Wade left for the Wolfpack after last season. But Khan decided to return to the Cowboys under new coach Bill Armstrong.

“Really just wanted to be back at McNeese,” Khan said in an taped television interview before Cowboys faced Vanderbilt. “Being a manager at McNeese was special to me. And it’s home.”

Khan, 23, is from Lake Charles, Louisiana, and applied for the manager job because of his affinity for Wade, whom he’d cheered for while Wade was coaching LSU.

Khan’s boom box shtick made him a viral sensation, and he became the first known student basketball manager to receive an NIL deal. Endorsements came from Buffalo Wild Wings, TickPick and Insomnia Cookies, among others.

“Amir is Amir, man,” McNeese’s DJ Richards said Wednesday. “It’s funny because I’ll be seeing things on Twitter, and they kind of portray him as someone that he’s not. If you all could ask Amir right now, I’m pretty sure he would be so cool without all the attention, all the things. Everything came to him naturally.”

___

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

McNeese's boom box-carrying student manager Amir 'Aura' Khan runs it back in March Madness | iNFOnews.ca
McNeese basketball manager Amir “Aura” Khan walks on the court during the the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament against Vanderbilt, Thursday, March 19, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Kyle Phillips)
McNeese's boom box-carrying student manager Amir 'Aura' Khan runs it back in March Madness | iNFOnews.ca
McNeese basketball manager Amir “Aura” Khan watches before first round game against Vanderbilt at the NCAA college basketball tournament, Thursday, March 19, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Kyle Phillips)

News from © The Associated Press, . All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Join the Conversation!

Want to share your thoughts, add context, or connect with others in your community?

Create a free account

The Associated Press

The Associated Press is an independent global news organization dedicated to factual reporting. Founded in 1846, AP today remains the most trusted source of fast, accurate, unbiased news in all formats and the essential provider of the technology and services vital to the news business. More than half the world’s population sees AP journalism every day.

Related Articles