Everyone likes to talk about money when it comes to recruiting topics these days. Most of the time, that’s related to Name, Image, & Likeness. But sometimes we get a glimpse into the amounts the schools spend to entertain prospects on their official visits.
Thanks to Sam Khan from the Athletic, who filed an official records request, we got a peek into what the University of Texas spent on the June weekend when Arch Manning, and eight other recruits, including Malik Muhammad, and Sydir Mitchell.
This was [Manning’s] official visit to Texas, a designation that meant the school could roll out the red carpet for him, using its expansive resources to try to impress the most coveted quarterback recruit in decades. A luxury hotel. An open bar for parents. A smorgasbord of food and nonstop entertainment. Nine recruits, including Manning, received first-class treatment throughout their 48 hours in Austin, all paid for out of the school’s substantial recruiting budget.
According to receipts and expense invoices obtained by The Athletic via open records requests, Texas spent nearly $280,000 for the mid-June weekend.
Yep, over a quarter of a million dollars in a single weekend..
And people claim A&M is the only school using money buy players.