TxAM – If it’s true that athletics is the window to the world from which a university is seen, Texas A&M University is providing a great view.

The university recently retained the services of a renowned sports and sponsorship evaluation company to measure the media exposure generated by the football team’s historic finish and quarterback Johnny Manziel winning the 2012 Heisman Trophy. Research conducted by Joyce Julius & Associates shows that the redshirt freshman winning the prestigious trophy produced more than 1.8 million media impressions, which translates into $37 million in media exposure for Texas A&M.

Media impressions, the company officials explain, include news mentions from print, television and internet sources. The figures do not reflect increases from merchandise sales, ticket requests or donations to the school, all of which historically have risen dramatically at schools that have produced a Heisman Trophy winner. The Collegiate Licensing Company has calculated a five-year average growth in sales and royalties of 27.5 percent based on the past five Heisman winners.

 

Is this what the AD meant when he brought Johnny Manziel in to his office to tell him to grow up?  To stop making his school $37 million dollars while he gets 0?  Or actually owes the school about $3k for the expenses his scholarship doesn’t cover?  Was that the convo?  Just the hypocrisy of college sports at its finest.   Starting witchhunts for athletes who get a free tattoo or sell their own game jerseys or take courtside tickets to hoops games but perfectly willing to cash their $37 mil check and capitalize on all the exposure.   Got it.   So sorry Mr. AD but if you’re going to cut me a check for approximately 0 dollars after I just made you rich I’m going to have to accept my payments in the form of college smokeshows and casino trips and courtside seats.  Got to capitalize on the success somehow.

 

PS –  Also this is why I could only laugh when everybody was freaking about the report from last week showing how much more schools spend on athletics than academics.  Probably has something to do with a quarterback singlehandedly bringing in $37 million in media exposure?  Let me know the next time the pimple faced kid in New Balance sneakers and a Jansport brings in a TV contract for people to watch him study Orgo in the library.  Money drives everything.  Not sure who hasn’t figured that out yet.