March 28, 2025

Branded Merch Turns McNeese State Student Manager Into an NCAA Tournament Sensation

The viral success of Amir “Aura” Khan led to his face on socks and T-shirts – and revealed a fascinating new wrinkle in the NIL phenomenon.

By  Brendan Menapace

Key Takeaways

• Amir Khan’s Viral Fame: McNeese State University’s Student Manager Amir Khan gained viral fame after a video of him rapping with the team went viral, leading to significant branding opportunities and NIL deals.

• Rapid Merchandising Success: The quick action by Reed Vial, special assistant to the coach, to capitalize on Khan’s viral moment with custom merchandise, including T-shirts and socks, resulted in substantial sales and royalties for Khan.

• Impact of Speed in Marketing: The story highlights the importance of speed in marketing, especially during viral moments, as timely actions can significantly amplify the impact and success of promotional efforts.

Everyone loves a Cinderella story. In the NCAA Tournament, that usually means a high-seeded team that most viewers learn about for the first time as they bust their bracket. That was the case for McNeese State University, a school in Lake Charles, LA, that you might’ve never heard of until they were knocking off Clemson in the tournament’s biggest first-round upset.

Then again, by the time of the tournament, McNeese had earned more visibility than your NCAA Tournament underdog – and it had nothing to do with its record or play on the floor. The reason? The team’s student manager, Amir Khan, started gaining notoriety after a video of him rapping along with the team as they walked to the court went viral.

The most fascinating development from that moment is that Khan, not even a student-athlete himself, has been signing Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) deals – a relatively new phenomenon even for student-athletes – and cashing in with branded merch. It’s a surprising and novel wrinkle in the NIL trend that’s reshaping college sports and creating a robust new vertical for corporations and distributors to engage in.

And once McNeese defeated Clemson and captured the nation’s attention, the promo machine surrounding Khan – who has gained the nickname “Aura” – went into overdrive. Before games, Khan typically walks out with the team carrying a giant boom box playing a hip-hop or rap song. So, before the team’s second-round matchup with Purdue last Saturday, Khan was lugging a custom yellow boom box bedecked with Buffalo Wild Wings logos.

During that second-round game, the McNeese cheerleaders were wearing socks with Khan’s face on them.

Topps too just announced that they signed a deal with the McNeese senior.

After that first video went viral, Reed Vial, special assistant to former McNeese State Coach Will Wade, saw an opportunity, so he put in an order for custom T-shirts and socks from Rock ‘Em Socks, and made sure that the products were there for the Purdue game.

“When we won our game against Clemson, they flew in that night to hand out stuff to the people in the hotel and everything, because I wanted to take advantage of the moment,” Vial tells ASI Media. “I structured the deal so that Amir was getting royalties on all the merch, but with that being said we got a bunch of free product as well.”

Reed was so busy with brands looking to get in on the hype of Khan that he told everyone he had “two minutes” available, and the deal would either get done or not.

The one with Rock ‘Em Socks did, though, and there’s still an Amir Khan branded merch collection on the site, where fans can buy allover print socks, “classic lines” McNeese State logo socks and a “retro photo” shirt with Amir Khan’s photo on it. The T-shirt, retailing for $49.99, is sold out.

“The shirt and the socks were fun,” Vial says. “I don’t even know how much money he’s made on that.”

NIL deals and brand partnerships have kept rolling in, and Vial is looking to help Khan capitalize on his viral moment. These things don’t last. It’s not like a student-athlete who will have a prolonged career and possibly go pro, opening up even more avenues for brand partnerships and endorsements.

Khan was, until very recently, an ordinary college student who happened to know the lyrics to a song and had charisma to back it up. He also happened to go to a school that isn’t in the national sports spotlight often, so the stars just sort of aligned.

That said, Vial is still working with him and his family should more brands want to create custom merchandise for him.

Wade, who coached McNeese this year, was just hired by North Carolina State, and Vial, who went with him, is pushing for Khan to join them in Raleigh in some capacity.

“If he does end up here, which is the plan, whether it be manager, grad assistant or internship, we’re probably going to have to get him security,” he said. “We’re probably going to have to get a team for him. It was hot for a month; it was ultra-viral for a month. If we have him for a whole other year, we’re talking about a totally different can of worms here.”

The NCAA Tournament can berth the most unlikely storylines. Anyone remember Sister Jean, the superfan of Loyola-Chicago who gained national attention when the school made its unlikely run to the Final Four in 2018? She got her own merchandise from Rock ‘Em Socks, too.

But the virility of social media means anyone can be a star – even an anonymous student manager – and the sudden object of affection for top brands through these relatively new NIL deals. Obviously, Vial and his team at McNeese saw the potential and immediately went the route of branded merchandise. If they had waited even a few days until McNeese was knocked out by Purdue, the moment could have passed them by.

The key takeaway for distributors and printers here is that speed can often be the most important factor. It was crucial for Vial to get on the phone immediately and order this apparel, but then distributors, suppliers and print had to leap into action and ensure the pieces were on the floor at the tournament, rather than arriving in boxes after the students got back to campus and Khan was just another student.

Instead, his life was changed, thanks in part to a promotional merchandise push.