The reasons Texas A&M doesn't mind the headaches that come with having Johnny Manziel has a quarterback?
There are $740 million of them.
The school announced a record donation total in its last fiscal year, $740 million, according to an email from Chancellor John Sharp reported by theeagle.com. That's roughly $300 million more than the previous high, and just to churn the stomachs of Texas fans, it's also nearly $300 million more than what the Longhorns pulled in last fiscal year.
TAMU officials credited everything from the school's entrance into the Southeastern Conference to a government contract for vaccine development for the increased cash flow. But TAMU Foundation President John Davis wasn't shy about sharing some credit with Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel:
"People ask me all the time if you have a winning football team, do you raise more money," Davis said. "In normal times, the statistical data wouldn't support that, but in an era where we are in, effectively, in the news everywhere and you have a young man like our quarterback who has been a media magnet and you have the success you have, I do think that euphoria does spill over into success in fundraising. I'm hoping we can keep it up."
What sort of impact has Manziel himself had on the total? That would be hard to measure until at least a year after the third-year sophomore is gone.
But suffice it to say that if Manziel waves goodbye to the college game after this season, the record isn't likely to fall again any time soon.
Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter @ChaseGoodbread
