If you want to win in college football you have to invest in your program. It isn’t just based on facilities, although that helps. Teams are learning they have to make financial investments in their recruiting efforts.
USA TODAY Sports recently reviewed each Power Five school with the exception of some private schools to find out who is putting the most effort into their recruiting efforts. You won’t be surprised about which teams are near the top.
Only three schools spent over $10 million in recruiting efforts since 2017. A shock to no one that the three all hail from the SEC with the two-time defending champion Georgia Bulldogs leading the way.
| School | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | Total |
| Georgia | 2,270,960 | 2,626,622 | 3,676,858 | 2,738,389 | 699,782 | 4,506,248 | 16,518,859 |
| Alabama | 1,536,958 | 2,344,057 | 2,633,467 | 2,105,688 | 527,662 | 2,324,470 | 11,472,302 |
| Tennessee | 1,604,549 | 2,002,871 | 2,247,289 | 1,615,820 | 339,878 | 2,324,470 | 10,729,098 |
| Clemson | 1,065,046 | 1,790,976 | 2,234,173 | 1,553,788 | 167,223 | 3,158,941 | 9,970,147 |
| Texas A&M | 1,280,508 | 1,710,101 | 1,673,204 | 1,066,904 | 691,591 | 2,984,168 | 9,406,476 |
| Michigan | 1,559,796 | 1,397,784 | 1,411,989 | 970,685 | 540,268 | 2,240,064 | 8,120,586 |
| Texas | 847,231 | 1,823,307 | 1,275,368 | 707,207 | 713,374 | 2,439,774 | 7,806,261 |
| Florida State | 2,279,880 | 1,581,347 | 1,503,142 | 1,079,337 | 203,532 | 899,308 | 7,546,546 |
| Oklahoma | 1,113,946 | 1,264,809 | 1,276,908 | 1,067,584 | 183,584 | 2,632,817 | 7,539,648 |
| Penn State | 1,265,636 | 1,369,428 | 1,529,068 | 1,143,048 | 651,338 | 1,486,521 | 7,445,089 |
The Texas Longhorns spent 31.3% of their six year total in 2022 as they were recruiting the No. 1 prospect Arch Manning, who they ultimately landed. The Texas A&M Aggies spent $691,591 during the 2021 recruiting cycle that help land the best recruiting class ever. That was the fourth most of the cycle behind Oregon State, Texas, and Georgia.
One team that seems to get the most bang for their buck are the the Ohio State Buckeyes, pun intended. They spent less than the top 10 teams as well as Florida, Oregon, LSU, Auburn, and even Rutgers but they are consistently among the best recruiting classes each year. They check in with a total of $5,070,680 spent from 2017 to 2022.
The schools that have poured the least into their recruiting efforts are the Wisconsin Badgers ($2,356,341), Mississippi State Bulldogs ($2,440,206), Washington State Cougars ($2,697,321), Iowa Hawkeyes ($2,754,767), and Arizona State Sun Devils ($2,768,198).
One thing is clear, if you want to compete at the highest level, being frugal isn’t the answer.