Amir "Aura" Khan, the McNeese student manager who went viral for leading the team onto the court during its men's NCAA tournament run last season while carrying a boom box, has entered the portal. He recently transferred back home after a brief stay at NC State.
"I would leave 'the portal' to the players," Khan told ESPN this week. "I know that's the term that's being used. I would say I just transferred as a regular student."
Because of Khan, McNeese's walk to the court during the NCAA tournament became one of the most notable staples of the postseason, with Khan rapping the lyrics to King Von and Prince Dre's "Back Again" with McNeese players, all while wearing a giant boom box around his neck. Khan was even featured in "One Shining Moment" at the end of the tournament.
Proof of his star power? He racked up more than 20 NIL deals, including one from Buffalo Wild Wings that included a new boom box, during the NCAA tournament. The deals reportedly tallied more than $100,000.
Felt the aura when we opened the app 🔥 @McNeeseMBB
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 15, 2025
(via @McNeeseMBB)
pic.twitter.com/vlSYkZArwJ
After McNeese's run to the second round of the NCAA tournament, Khan followed Will Wade to NC State after a personal request from the head coach.
"Coach Wade called me himself to say, 'Amir, we would love to have you there,'" he said. "'We'd love to have you here.' ... For Coach Wade to call me personally and say that he wants me [at NC State], it meant a lot to me."
But earlier this month, Khan returned home after a brief stint as a student manager with the Wolfpack.
Khan said he left NC State on good terms with Wade, the staff and the team.
He had a few reasons to enter the student manager portal, he said. Most of his credits were not accepted at NC State, creating an academic problem for him.
"It pushed me back to being a sophomore," Khan said. "So I'm a senior [at McNeese], so I decided to come back and get my degree. That was really the reason why I left in the middle of the season so I could be [at McNeese] for next semester and try to graduate this upcoming semester."
But classroom concerns weren't the biggest issue for the boom box king. Khan was also homesick.
Lake Charles, Louisiana, where McNeese is located, is home for Khan. His family and friends are there. He's also a die-hard McNeese fan who was living his dream when he became a student manager three years ago.
Khan said he couldn't resist the chance to come home when it was offered to him.
"I just wanted to be back home," he said. "I think NC State was amazing. I loved the city, loved the campus, loved the players on the team. There was no animosity whatsoever. I just wanted to be back with McNeese. It means a lot more to me to work for McNeese."
The combination of factors all led to Khan's return to McNeese under new head coach Bill Armstrong. And he might be the program's lucky charm.
McNeese is 2-0 since his return.
And he's back to using his old boom box.