Tim Tebow said in January that he felt compelled to return to Florida for his seniors season because he "just felt loyal to this place."  But Thursday morning in Tallahassee, Urban Meyer revealed another motivating favor for Tebow at a breakfast honoring the Gators' national championship:

Meyer said the NCAA granted Tebow a waiver to raise money for the Bob Tebow Evangelical Association, or Tebow would have turned pro.

The NCAA has not yet returned a call to explain the extent of the waiver, or why it granted an exception to the Tebows.  According to its Web site, "The Bob Tebow Evangelistic Association has been serving in the Philippines since 1985 with five major priorities: Evangelism, Church Planting, Pastor Training, an Orphanage, and the Training of the Next Generation of Evangelists. It is the primary goal of BTEA to make the Gospel of Jesus Christ available to every person in the world."

Tebow is a featured part of BTEA, making annual trips to the orphanages in the Philippines.  His celebrity and image as perhaps the most recognizable football player in the country could help the Tebows raise significant dollar figures for their organization.

Tebow claims the ability to raise funds for his evangelism, not his questionable draft stock or desire to win another championship for the Gators, is what propelled him to return to Gainesville for one more season.

"My reason for coming back wasn't to win another championship, which we're trying to do, or to go higher in the draft," Tebow said Thursday. "It was to have an impact on today's youth, something that most athletes don't ever take the time to think about."

Tebow re-popularized the trend of writing bible verses on his eye black in 2008, and 93 million people Googled "John 3:16" after he wore it for the National Championship Game.

"It's a blessing — 93 million people went to Google and saw 3:16 and that's an incredible thing," he said. "When I stopped to think about it, I thought, 'Wow, 93 million people don't know what that means' and had to go Google it. I think society definitely needs more role models."