Georgia, Alabama lead Power Five schools in spending on college football recruiting

Georgia’s football recruiting budget skyrocketed under coach Kirby Smart en route to back-to-back national titles while counterpart Nick Saban has kept Alabama atop recruit rankings despite stagnant spending.

It’s two paths to a similar result in the ultra-competitive SEC, which spends more than any conference on recruiting by a wide margin.

Georgia spent $4.51 million on football recruiting during the 2022 fiscal year. Its budget almost doubled from the $2.27 million spent in 2017, the first fiscal year under Smart. The comparison is not adjusted for inflation.

That data was revealed in NCAA financial reports obtained by USA TODAY Sports Network in response to open records requests and compiled in partnership with the Knight-Newhouse Data project at Syracuse University.

Georgia’s spending far exceeded any other Power 5 public university. In fact, its recruiting budget was at least double that of 45 of the 51 other public schools in Power 5 conferences.

Smart spared no expense while utilizing charter flights and helicopters to visit recruits. His aggressive recruiting approach landed seven consecutive top-four signing classes in the 247Sports Composite rankings. Georgia utilized that talent to win the past two national championships and overtake Alabama as the premier program in college football.

Recruiting expenses cover transportation, lodging and meals for recruits, additional personnel for official and unofficial visits, phone charges and postage for pursuing recruits and the value of schools' vehicles and planes or those used by the school for recruiting. Compensation for coaches and recruiting support staff is not included in the recruiting expenses.

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Varying accounting systems for athletics departments and/or university can result in a lack of uniformity in how these numbers are compiled for financial reports. USA TODAY Sports Network obtained recruiting expenses for Power Five public universities for the past six years.

Here are the other key takeaways.

Alabama, Ohio State got bang for the buck

Alabama has slipped behind Georgia on the field. But Saban has held his own in recruiting while spending less money.

Alabama’s signing classes have ranked in the top two in six of the past seven years. But its recruiting budget has remained virtually unchanged while competitors have increased their spending.

From 2018 to 2020, Alabama was No. 2 in recruiting expenses, averaging $2.36 million per year. It dropped to No. 7 in 2022 while still spending $2.32 million. Alabama's 2023 class ranked No. 1, slightly ahead of Georgia, according to 247Sports Composite.

Ohio State has stretched a dollar even further. The Buckeyes ranked No. 21 in average recruiting expenses since 2017. But they signed a top-five class in every year except one in that period.

SEC dominance will grow when Texas, Oklahoma join

In the 2022 fiscal year, the SEC’s 13 public schools spent an average of $1.75 million on football recruiting.

The ACC’s eight public schools averaged $1.27 million. The Big 12 spent $1.24 million per school. The Big Ten averaged $1.19 million, and the Pac-12 averaged $1.06 million.

The exclusion of successful programs at private schools like Southern Cal, Miami, Notre Dame and TCU skew the figures a little. But the SEC still reigns supreme, and that’s not surprising.

In 2022, five SEC schools were in the top 10 in recruiting expenses: No. 1 Georgia ($4.51 million), No. 3 Texas A&M ($2.98 million), No. 4 Tennessee ($2.92 million), No. 7 Alabama ($2.32 million) and No. 10 Florida ($1.64 million).

But the SEC will add two top-10 spending teams in 2024. Oklahoma ($2.63 million) and Texas ($2.44 million) ranked No. 5 and No. 6, respectively, in 2022 recruiting expenses.

Tennessee spent a lot and got NCAA investigation

Only Georgia and Alabama spent more on recruiting than Tennessee over the past six years.

But the Vols didn't have much to show for it except an NCAA investigation that alleges 18 Level 1 recruiting violations under former coach Jeremy Pruitt.

From 2017-22, Tennessee averaged $1.79 million in recruiting expenses per year. Georgia ($2.75 million), Alabama ($1.91 million), Clemson ($1.66 million) and Texas A&M ($1.57 million) rounded out the top five during that period.

But Tennessee didn’t sign a top-10 class until a No. 9 ranking in 2023 under coach Josh Heupel.

Some schools haven’t bounced back from pandemic

About one-third of Power 5 schools saw their recruiting expenses decrease in 2022 compared to 2019, the last fiscal year before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Schools like Penn State, UCLA and Colorado experienced minor drops.

But LSU had a staggering 54% reduction in recruiting expenses from $1.61 million in 2019 to $742,713 in 2022. The Tigers had a top-15 recruiting budget for five years until ranking No. 45 in 2022.

Florida State recruiting expenses dropped 40% from pre-pandemic spending. That continues the Seminoles’ slide to No. 36 in 2022 spending since touting the largest recruiting budget in college football in 2017.

Arkansas dropped 37% from pre-pandemic spending, and Nebraska dropped 25%.

Oklahoma State, Iowa, Wisconsin among surprises

There were some head scratchers in the reports.

In 2022, Rutgers was No. 11 nationally and No. 2 in the Big Ten in recruiting expenses. Only five SEC schools spent more than the Scarlet Knights, who haven’t had a winning season since 2014. Rutgers has almost doubled its recruiting budget to $1.61 million since Greg Schiano returned for his second stint as coach.

Conversely, Oklahoma State, Iowa and Wisconsin have routinely played into the Top 25 polls during the season despite being among the thriftiest spenders in recruiting.

Wisconsin averaged $392,723 in recruiting expenses over the past six years, the least among Power 5 public schools. Iowa and Oklahoma State spent only $459,128 and $473,500 per year, respectively, while outplaying programs that spent much more.

Contributing: Steve Berkowitz of USA TODAY