Texas among nation’s leaders in recruiting expenses

The NCAA won’t let its member football programs pay the players. But nobody ever said anything about throwing money at the process of recruiting the top players in the nation to commit to your respective school.

It appears Les Miles isn’t the only college football coach with an affinity for rapper Rick Ross.

Last week, Stadium.com released a list of college football programs that are, as Rick infamously said it, blowing money fast, revealing the total amount each school spent throughout the 2018 fiscal year in operating revenue — namely, recruiting expenses.

But what does it mean and where does Texas fall on the list?

Obviously, college football programs throwing money at the chase of some of the nation’s top recruits should come as no surprise. Not only the head coaches, but position coaches and coordinators hit the road, and none of these guys are flying around in prop planes and staying at The Best Western.

The lodging, transportation and accommodations alone are a chunk of change when you’re traveling the United States in hopes of wooing a blue chip recruit to campus.

The good news is, however, the money and time put into recruiting efforts are reflecting on the recruiting class rankings.

Georgia — the SEC school that lost in the Sugar Bowl to Texas on a night when Sam Ehlinger was willing to leave the Super Dome in a wheelchair if it meant taking home some New Year’s Six hardware — came in first on the list, spending a whopping $2.6 million in its Fiscal Year 2018.

The Dawgs signed the No. 1 overall class to cap the 2018 cycle.

Texas fell second on the list of football recruiting expenses in Fiscal Year 2018. Which, according to Texas A&M fans, means that the Georgia Bulldogs “finally cared” about a competition with the Texas Longhorns.

Texas spent $1.8 million in 2018 and signed the No. 3 overall class in February.

I wonder if this includes the travel, lodging and meal accommodations the school spent flying out to L.A. to tell Bru McCoy to come back to Austin?

Here’s the rest of the top ten dollar amounts for college recruiting expenses in 2018 paired with the class ranking on signing day 2018.

3. Clemson, $1,790,976 — 7th overall

4. Texas A&M, $1,710,101 — 17th overall

5. Florida State, $1,581,347 — 11th overall

6. Michigan, $1,397,784 — 22nd overall

7. Penn State, $1,369,428 — 6th overall

8. LSU, $1,287,344 — 15th overall

9. Oklahoma, $1,264,809 — 9th overall

10. Nebraska, $1,250,674 — 23rd overall