MBB Coach in Hot Water After Aura Farming Scandal

NYU Point Guard ’26

Second Place

After a historically successful season, the coach of the NESCAC and Division Three champion Trinity Bantams Men’s Basketball program, James Cosgrove, is under investigation for what inside sources are calling “aura farming.” For the unfamiliar reader, aura farming is doing random acts for the sole motivation of gaining aura. Streamers like Adin Ross and Kai Cenat are often accused of this malfeasance, but for the first time these allegations are being directed at a Division Three coach. 

In a joint suit filed by Wesleyan, Middlebury and Bowdoin on Monday, they allege that Cosgrove’s aura farming began during Trinity’s 2015 run to the Elite Eight. The suit asserts that Cosgrove’s baggy suits have “a distracting amount of drip” and that his stoic on court demeanor “unfairly makes opposing teams shudder in fear.” They also claim that his aura has put him at a distinct advantage during recruiting season, not bringing in better recruits because of the program’s superiority, but instead because “[Cosgrove] simply has too much sauce to compete with.” 

The Tripod reached out to Coach Cosgrove to address the allegations in a sit down interview. “I’m not afraid to admit it, I’ve got some aura,” Cosgrove told us. “I’m personally not surprised they’re coming after me on this, other NESCAC teams have failed time and again to stop our dominance on the court, it makes sense they’d pursue legal action at this point.” When we asked him where his aura came from he was blunt: “I was simply born with it. My parents always told me growing up, ‘you’re actually him’ and that really resonated with me. I’m sure the suits help as well, I’ve ‘got that shit on’ as my players might say.” To end our interview we asked him how he’d address the suit: “no comment” he replied.