Football Friday: Which SEC teams have the biggest recruiting budgets?

The Georgia Bulldogs spent the most money on recruitment for men's athletics teams during the 2015-16 season, according to the newest Department of Education data.

The road to any football championship starts with a class of talented recruits.

SEC athletics programs stepped up their recruiting efforts last season, with schools in the conference increasing their recruitment expenses by an average of $1.45 million from the prior year. To rank each SEC school by total recruiting expenses, we compiled the latest Department of Education data for the 2015-16 season. Check out our conference breakdown below.

Alabama and Auburn both ranked in the top four with more than $1.5 million spent by both schools on recruiting, but the Georgia Bulldogs dished out the most money on attracting new talent last season after increasing their spending by nearly 52 percent. On average, recruiting expenses rose by 19.3 percent for SEC schools compared to the prior season.

The list

Here’s a look at how SEC schools rank by recruiting expenses in the 2015-16 season, including percent changes in expenses from the prior season. Data covers overall spending for men’s athletic programs and not just football, although football accounts for a large percentage of recruiting budgets for most schools in the conference.

1) University of Georgia: $2,733,759 (51.9%)

2) The University of Alabama: $2,227,636 (32.3%)

3) The University of Tennessee: $1,914,153 (23.5%)

4) Auburn University: $1,594,488 (-3.6%)

6) Texas A & M University: $1,515,148 (52.6%)

5) University of Arkansas: $1,585,500 (34.5%)

​7) University of Florida: $1,401,267 (12.9%)

8) University of Kentucky: $1,394,629 (-6.7%)

9) Louisiana State University: $1,367,641 (7.1%)

​10) University of Missouri: $1,009,922 (14.9%)

11) University of South Carolina: $948,678 (17.7%)

12) Vanderbilt University: $936,370 (10.8%)

13) Mississippi State University: $830,488 (14.7%)

​14) University of Mississippi: $823,475 (7.3%)

SOURCE:  Bagwell, Dan.  "Football Friday: Which SEC teams have the biggest recruiting budgets?"  Birmingham Business Journal, 20 October 2017, https://www.bizjournals.com/birmingham/news/2017/10/20/football-friday-which-sec-teams-have-the-biggest.html.
 

MeridianOMRebel wrote:

Keep in mind, those numbers include probation items as well - so less visits and such for money to be spent on. But we'd still be near the bottom anyways.

I don't think we self imposed any reductions for the 15-16 season did we?  Was thinking that was 16-17?  Regardless we would still be at the bottom and digging while others are building...