McNeese State student manager Amir “Aura” Khan looks on during the second half in the first round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Amica Mutual Pavillion on March 20, 2025 in Providence, Rhode Island. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)

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Tyler Erzberger

By Tyler Erzberger

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No, you're not watching a rerun: Amir Khan, the popular team manager of the Cinderella story McNeese State, is back at March Madness in 2026 with his jumpsuit and boombox.

Khan became a main character of last year's tournament with his flamboyant costumes and walkouts from the tunnel with the McNeese Cowboys behind him.

Although there was some blowback against Khan for upstaging the actual team that provided one of the best stories of the tournament, the players stuck up for their manager, happy for all the fame that came his way.

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But after the Cowboys' magical run ended, head coach Will Wade took an offer to move up in the college basketball hierarchy by signing with NC State.

Khan, who was a senior and riding high off endorsement deals and having his own agent, decided to join his coach in North Carolina.

So why (and how) is Khan back with the Cowboys at March Madness?

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McNeese State student manager Amir "Aura" Khan walks the court prior to the game against the Purdue Boilermakers in the second round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Amica Mutual Pavillion on March 22, 2025 in Providence, Rhode Island. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)

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Well, in an exclusive interview with Front Office Sports, Khan opened up about his struggles after leaving McNeese for a bigger pond at NC State.

“I’m not someone who necessarily wants to move away," he told them, talking about how he missed living close to home. Khan lived only a few miles away from McNeese's campus in Louisiana.

There was also one major reason why Khan returned to the Cowboys after making the leap to NC State: he wanted to graduate.

When Khan left McNeese for his new school following Wade, many of the credits he earned there didn't transfer.

He was no longer a senior at NC State. He was a sophomore.

That update, along with his missing home and the tumultuous season NC State had, all coincided with Khan returning to where he made a name for himself last year, as the Cowboys once again won their conference tournament to return to March Madness.

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