Latest news with #MarchMadnessTournament
Forbes
10-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
How Intuit Executed NIL Deals In Real-Time During March Madness
UConn Huskies guard Azzi Fudd (35) was one of the athletes Intuit worked with during March Madness ... More (Photo by M. Anthony Nesmith/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) Intuit TurboTax knew it wanted to activate with college athletes during March Madness, but this year the brand challenged itself to execute new name, image and likeness partnerships in real-time as up-and-coming stars emerged. 'Throughout the March Madness Tournament, our team is watching every game, looking for record breakers and identifying athletes that have a standout performance – whether on or off the court – and those are the students we look to engage and partner with," said Caitlin Campbell, Intuit TurboTax Gen Z and NIL strategic communications lead. 'Because the tournament happens so quickly, ultimately it comes down to who we can quickly connect with and get onboard. Immediately following games, we are sliding into DMs, connecting with agents, garnering interest, and finalizing offers.' The challenge? Get content live four times faster than the brand's typical influencer campaigns with the goal of contracting, reviewing and approving posts within 24-48 hours. 'Our expectations for our NIL partnerships are different from what they are for traditional influencers,' said Campbell. 'We know these students are not necessarily creators - they are students and athletes – so having that lens is important. Beyond that, they often have a very short window of time to shoot content with their practice and travel schedules, so we make it super easy for them by pre-drafting concepts that relate to their standout moment. We want these athletes to feel natural and authentic when creating content for us, so we encourage them to lean into their personality or big game moment.' Intuit says the strategy worked. Content produced as part of the campaign received 30% higher positive sentiment than the brand's standard influencer campaigns. Intuit shared its success experienced with some of its athlete partners: 'What's incredible is how far and wide the reach of these athletes' spans. From college students and alumni to all basketball fans, March Madness is an event that everyone watches, and we strategically partner with athletes that we believe people will be talking about the next day,' said Campbell. FEATURED | Frase ByForbes™ Unscramble The Anagram To Reveal The Phrase Pinpoint By Linkedin Guess The Category Queens By Linkedin Crown Each Region Crossclimb By Linkedin Unlock A Trivia Ladder 'We want our content to go live while sports fans are still talking about the incredible buzzer beater and seeing how TurboTax can also help you get your taxes done just in the nick of time. While we think our partnerships really do help us resonate with Gen Z audiences – the content actually goes far beyond that and speaks to sports fans of all ages.' Mark Notarainni, general manager of Intuit's Consumer Group, says partnering with college athletes achieves a few different goals. 'Our strategy with NIL athletes and March Madness is a natural fit. We've always recognized the power of live sporting events to connect with highly engaged audiences. Now, with NIL, we can extend that connection beyond the game. By partnering with these student athletes, many experiencing significant earnings for the first time, we're not just advertising, we're providing them genuine tax support and education; all while reaching a broader audience of sports fans with valuable tax and financial literacy resources on their favorite athletes' social feed. The timing of March Madness and the Final Four is critical, coinciding with tax season and the approaching tax deadline.' Intuit also looked for others around the game going viral, including McNeese State equipment manager Amir Khan. While managers like Khan were never prohibited from engaging in NIL activities like the athletes were previously, he says he appreciates being recognized for his role. 'I believe managers are getting noticed more just because people are seeing how much we care and help out behind the scenes. I happened to get lucky being in the right place at the right time. TurboTax reached out and gave me an opportunity I'm really thankful for. They also helped me feel more confident about managing money, which I didn't really know much about before.' His advice for other managers who might want to attract NIL deals? Focus on being yourself and working hard every day. 'The staff will notice you if you care about your team, take pride in what you do, and are always ready to work. I never planned for any of this, it just happened from doing what I love. Also, when opportunities come, work with companies that actually help you grow. TurboTax files your taxes for you and makes filing taxes stress free, so that was a no brainer partnership for me.' In addition to the content partnerships, Intuit also provides their NIL athletes – and managers – with tax assistance and financial education programs to focus on long-term success.
USA Today
22-03-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Who is Amir Khan? Meet McNeese basketball student manager, March Madness sensation
If there is one team in the NCAA Tournament that has found itself at the forefront of headlines through one round of play it's McNeese basketball. But it isn't just Will Wade's reported agreement to fill the vacant coaching job at NC State after the season ends, nor the fact they pulled off the first true upset of the 2025 March Madness Tournament. McNeese's student manager, Ahmir "Aura" Khan, is also a significant part of the Cowboys story in this postseason run. Wait, what? A student manager is a bigger story than the head coach and the 12 players on a roster? Yes, and that is the beauty of March Madness: Year after year, the one-of-a-kind tournament puts the spotlight on unsung heroes and makes them into social media sensations overnight. Khan and McNeese are coming off the first NCAA Tournament victory in program history on Thursday against No. 5 seed Clemson. A win on Saturday against No. 4 Purdue would send the Cowboys to their first-ever Sweet 16 appearance. Here's what you need to know about Khan ahead of Saturday's NCAA Tournament second-round game: Who is Amir Khan? Meet McNeese basketball manager Khan is the student manager for the McNeese basketball program, who has gone viral over the last month of the Cowboys' season. He first went viral on Feb. 22, when he was seen rapping "In & Out" by Lud Foe word-for-word while leading the Cowboys out for the game from their locker room while wearing an enormous boombox around his neck (warning: explicit language used). Since then, Khan has become one of the most popular members of McNeese's program and the NCAA Tournament. CBS Sports cameras caught Khan leading McNeese once again out onto the court at Amica Mutual Pavilion ahead of its first-round game vs. No. 5 Clemson on Thursday. "It was an amazing moment, because it was so genuine. It was just me feeding off their energy," Khan told USA TODAY's Paul Myerberg Friday of his viral moment. "That's kind of how it's been all year. We have a great relationship. It's definitely fun to be a part of." His recent rise to fame has helped him land name, image and likeness (NIL) deals with Buffalo Wild Wings, TickPick and Insomnia Cookies. "I enjoy the free cookies," Khan joked with Myerberg on his NIL deals. McNeese's cheerleaders were also seen wearing "Amir Khan" socks on Thursday on the sidelines in Providence, while Khan was seen taking selfies with fans in the stands on Thursday. "It's crazy. Because I never would have imagined this would have ever happened," Khan told The Associated Press in postgame. "I appreciate them for wearing it. I appreciate all the love and support. And seeing them wearing it means a lot to me." On Friday following McNeese's first NCAA Tournament win, Topps announced on X (formerly Twitter) that it has signed Khan to an NIL deal that has created his own trading card. Quite legendary for a 22-year-old sports management major from Lake Charles, Louisiana. Like many student managers, Khan volunteered himself to be McNeese's student manager before the 2022-23 season. Coined the "Amir Khan Effect" by CBS Sports, the Cowboys have won a combined 59 games in the two seasons that Khan has been the manager. McNeese only had 22 combined wins prior to his arrival. "He's a servant leader in the sense that when I was a manager at Clemson, you're at a bigger school. You have scholarship money we can divvy out. We're McNeese. We have no scholarship money," Wade said in an interview with The Associated Press. "This is strictly volunteer. When we got the job, we had no managers, we had nothing. He added: "I joked with him. He's our clock guy, which is the hardest thing to do in practice. You have to know the scoring in each of the drills. I said, 'Man, all this fame is getting to your head. You have to buckle in.'" What is Amir Khan's nickname? Khan's nickname is "Aura." As for where the nickname "Aura" comes from, it has to do with the drip and bling that Khan wears on the sidelines. In other words, aura is today's version of the word "swag." That isn't the only nickname he has given himself though. In a segment with March Madness, Khan gave himself a comparison to Basketball Hall of Famer and two-time NBA champion Wilt Chamberlain. "If they kept manager stats for rebounding and wiping up wet spots on the court, I'd put up Wilt Chamberlain numbers," Khan said. The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
USA Today
17-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Did West Virginia make March Madness? Mountaineers miss out on 2025 men's NCAA Tournament
Did West Virginia make March Madness? Mountaineers miss out on 2025 men's NCAA Tournament Show Caption Hide Caption Arizona's Caleb Love recalls the best moments from his previous March Madness appearances Arizona's Caleb Love talks about expectations for his team in the Big 12, and his hopes for March Madness. He also talks about his partnership with Ritz. West Virginia basketball made noise in the first half of the season by picking up three Quad 1 wins during one month. However, the Mountaineers' work done early in the season wasn't enough to secure a spot in the men's NCAA Tournament. Already entering the day on the bubble, West Virginia learned it missed out on March Madness in Year 1 of the Darian DeVries era in Morgantown as the "first team out" of the 68-team bracket during the Selection Sunday bracket show. REQUIRED READING: CBS pays tribute to Greg Gumbel on March Madness Selection Sunday bracket reveal show The Mountaineers went 10-10 in the Big 12 this season and experienced an early exit in the conference tournament last week at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri. Here's what you need to know on whether West Virginia made the NCAA Tournament or not, and more: Did West Virginia make March Madness? No, West Virginia did not make the 2025 March Madness Tournament. The Mountaineers, instead, learned that they were the first team out of making the NCAA Tournament on Selection Sunday during the bracket reveal show. West Virginia entered Selection Sunday vying for one of the final spots in the field of 68, as one of the handful of teams that found itself on the bubble. The Mountaineers' first-round loss to Colorado, the last-place team in the Big 12, likely kept them out of the dance. West Virginia being left out of the field was a shocking decision by the NCAA Tournament selection committee, considering the Mountaineers appeared on 111 of 111 brackets on Bracket Project — marking the first unanimous selection to ever miss out on the NCAA Tournament, per Bronco Nation News's Nathan Carroll. The one team that got in over West Virginia was UNC, a controversial decision by the selection committee. Putting West Virginia and UNC's resumes side-by-side, the Mountaineers have a slightly stronger resume — highlighted by their 6-10 Quad 1 record, an important statistical piece used by the NCAA Tournament selection committee on top of NET rankings. UNC went 1-12 against Quad 1 teams this season, with that lone Quad 1 win coming in non-conference against UCLA. To expound, West Virginia's resume consists of a win on the road at Kansas, neutral site wins over Gonzaga (No. 8 in NET rankings) and Arizona (No. 12 in NET) and a win over Iowa State (No. 9 in NET). Comparatively, UNC's resume has a Quad 3 loss at home against Stanford. As noted by USA TODAY's Jordan Mendoza, West Virginia had more Quad 1 wins than 13 at-large teams that were selected to the field of 68. "We have a lot of metrics and we added a couple of this year," NCAA Tournament selection chair Bubba Cunningham said on CBS's Selection Sunday show. "... The last four teams that were out, it was a tough call. The next team out was West Virginia and they had an outstanding year. Unfortunately, Tucker DeVries was hurt and player availability is something that we talked about quite a bit." He added: "That's the hardest part of being on the committee is having to draw that line. But with only one real upset this year, there were an awful lot of teams on the bubble that got in." The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
