PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The most recognizable member of the McNeese State basketball program is a 5-foot-7 senior whose athletic claim to fame is a 30-point outburst two years ago while playing for the Bomb Squad, the school’s intramural champions.
Amir Khan is a 22-year-old sports management major from Lake Charles, Louisiana, who has become a social-media darling during the Cowboys’ run to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. As the program’s student manager, Khan has delivered millions of online eyeballs and capitalized on his online appeal with a series of NIL deals.
“He’s bringing crazy attention,” said P.J. Mitchell, the school’s associate athletics director for creative media.
Since being named the manager before last season, Khan has ushered the Cowboys onto the court while toting a boombox looped around his neck, blasting a series of mainstream and under-the-radar singles as the program’s unofficial hype man.
This went unnoticed until a matchup on Feb. 22 against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, when Mitchell posted a video on X of Khan and the team leaving the locker room to the tune of “In & Out,” from a relatively little-known rapper named Lud Foe. Despite the song’s obscurity, Khan began singing along, word for word, shocking his teammates and cracking the online algorithm to create a truly viral social-media moment.
“It was an amazing moment, because it was so genuine. It was just me feeding off their energy,” Khan said. “That’s kind of how it’s been all year. We have a great relationship. It’s definitely fun to be a part of.”
McNeese’s online engagement has since entered a new stratosphere. Last March, McNeese had 1.4 million engagements on X, Mitchell said. In the last seven days alone, that number has been an “indescribable” 1.5 million, said Mitchell, who added that his phone crashed twice after the Cowboys’ opening-round win against Clemson because he was getting so many notifications.
This popularity has trickled into real life. Good Morning America was in Providence to interview Khan for an upcoming segment. Khan has started to be recognized on and around campus, where McNeese students and supporters will ask for pictures, theoretically to improve their own online clout.
“I think it’s pretty cool,” he said. “They ask for a photo, and I’m never going to turn that down if they want to do it, for sure.”
Amid all the likes, retweets and shares, Khan continues to do the dirty and largely unseen work as team manager: rebounding shots at practice, cleaning up locker rooms and washing practice and game jerseys, among other mundane responsibilities.
“Everything he does for the team, it goes unnoticed,” senior guard Javohn Garcia said. “But it’s noticed now.”
His virality has made him a uniquely 2025 phenomenon: While players have been able to take advantage of the new landscape ushered in by NIL, Khan has earned major-brand endorsement deals solely by virtue of his online appeal.
He’s collected NIL contracts from Insomnia Cookies, Buffalo Wild Wings and the online ticket vendor TickPick. That’s provided “free cookies and a little bit of compensation,” Khan said, who declined to disclose how much he’s earned from these deals but said he’s socked his earnings away and hasn’t made any major purchases.
“But I’m getting some compensation,” he said. “I enjoy the free cookies, though.”
Instead of creating friction, Khan’s rising profile has been embraced by the team, which feeds off his “contagious” energy, Garcia said. This support is seen in a new fashion craze: For the No. 12 Cowboys’ upset of No. 5 Clemson, McNeese cheerleaders and junior guard Sincere Parker wore socks emblazoned with Khan’s smiling face.
“He brings the energy on and off the court,” Garcia said. “The boombox, practice, rebounds. He talks to us, like, giving people confidence during the game.”
That the Cowboys are enjoying his newfound fame “means a lot to me,” said Khan. “It’s been absolutely positive. They’ve embraced it.”
Khan’s stretch as student manager — and his run of online fame — may end as soon as Saturday, when McNeese takes on No. 4 Purdue in the second round of the West region. His next goal is to graduate, Khan said. After that, he wants to go into coaching as a graduate assistant “for any college basketball that’s willing to take me,” an audacious goal for a student manager whose official, non-intramural basketball career topped out before middle school.
But in addition to his managerial duties, Khan said he’s “been picking up little things” from coach Will Wade and the Cowboys’ coaching staff.
“I’ve enjoyed being part of the basketball program the past two years,” he said. “There’s no feeling like it. So why not continue to do it?”