Colleges That Spend the Most on Recruiting Football Players

College football is a big business, among other things. Tens of millions of dollars routinely flow through the athletic departments of the biggest programs, not to mention the value of the exposure a school gets from having a winning program. When recruiting thousands of prospective students to shell out tens of thousands of dollars in tuition and fees, few things put your school on the map like a nationally recognized football team.

But before you can start recruiting hordes of tuition-paying students with the promise of big football games every year, you have to recruit the top-tier athletes to attend your school for free. As much as Americans go for the underdog story, football is a sport that emphasizes athleticism above all else. If you can consistently recruit the biggest, strongest and fastest high school athletes, your odds of being at the top of the standings year after year are pretty good.

So, which schools are throwing the most money at the problem? To answer the question, GOBankingRates compiled information on the football recruiting budgets for 55 public Division I programs using data from Watch Stadium, which excluded both private universities and Division I-A universities. Bolstered with info on the total recruiting budget for the school, the study gives a clearer sense of which college football programs have the most cash at their disposal, as well as which commit the largest portion of their total recruiting budget specifically to football. The study is ranked in order from the least to most spent on football recruiting.

The results show some predictable names near the top, but there are also plenty of schools that appear to be doing a lot with their money, in addition to others that might be spending a ton to get very little.

Last updated: Dec. 31, 2020

• Recruiting expenses for all sports: $698,178
• Recruiting expenses for football in 2018: $251,975
• Percentage of total recruiting expenses spent on football: 36.09%

• Recruiting expenses for all sports: $1,224,327
• Recruiting expenses for football in 2018: $350,695
• Percentage of total recruiting expenses spent on football: 28.64%

• Recruiting expenses for all sports: $805,605
• Recruiting expenses for football in 2018: $369,776
• Percentage of total recruiting expenses spent on football: 45.90%

• Recruiting expenses for all sports: $856,882
• Recruiting expenses for football in 2018: $374,630
• Percentage of total recruiting expenses spent on football: 43.72%

• Recruiting expenses for all sports: $773,739
• Recruiting expenses for football in 2018: $414,229
• Percentage of total recruiting expenses spent on football: 53.54%

• Recruiting expenses for all sports: $1,406,823
• Recruiting expenses for football in 2018: $432,480
• Percentage of total recruiting expenses spent on football: 30.74%

• Recruiting expenses for all sports: $1,353,555
• Recruiting expenses for football in 2018: $453,116
• Percentage of total recruiting expenses spent on football: 33.48%

• Recruiting expenses for all sports: $1,391,023
• Recruiting expenses for football in 2018: $509,760
• Percentage of total recruiting expenses spent on football: 36.65%

• Recruiting expenses for all sports: $1,269,423
• Recruiting expenses for football in 2018: $523,791
• Percentage of total recruiting expenses spent on football: 41.26%

• Recruiting expenses for all sports: $1,543,683
• Recruiting expenses for football in 2018: $531,807
• Percentage of total recruiting expenses spent on football: 34.45%

• Recruiting expenses for all sports: $1,833,803
• Recruiting expenses for football in 2018: $535,362
• Percentage of total recruiting expenses spent on football: 29.19%

• Recruiting expenses for all sports: $1,308,607
• Recruiting expenses for football in 2018: $539,299
• Percentage of total recruiting expenses spent on football: 41.21%

• Recruiting expenses for all sports: $1,495,385
• Recruiting expenses for football in 2018: $545,968
• Percentage of total recruiting expenses spent on football: 36.51%

• Recruiting expenses for all sports: $1,781,451
• Recruiting expenses for football in 2018: $548,062
• Percentage of total recruiting expenses spent on football: 30.76%

• Recruiting expenses for all sports: $1,459,650
• Recruiting expenses for football in 2018: $555,565
• Percentage of total recruiting expenses spent on football: 38.06%

• Recruiting expenses for all sports: $1,588,752
• Recruiting expenses for football in 2018: $563,744
• Percentage of total recruiting expenses spent on football: 35.48%

• Recruiting expenses for all sports: $1,313,034
• Recruiting expenses for football in 2018: $585,680
• Percentage of total recruiting expenses spent on football: 44.61%

• Recruiting expenses for all sports: $1,712,668
• Recruiting expenses for football in 2018: $608,755
• Percentage of total recruiting expenses spent on football: 35.54%

• Recruiting expenses for all sports: $1,546,908
• Recruiting expenses for football in 2018: $626,311
• Percentage of total recruiting expenses spent on football: 40.49%

• Recruiting expenses for all sports: $1,144,052
• Recruiting expenses for football in 2018: $635,077
• Percentage of total recruiting expenses spent on football: 55.51%

• Recruiting expenses for all sports: $1,397,437
• Recruiting expenses for football in 2018: $647,842
• Percentage of total recruiting expenses spent on football: 46.36%

• Recruiting expenses for all sports: $1,443,224
• Recruiting expenses for football in 2018: $674,239
• Percentage of total recruiting expenses spent on football: 46.72%

• Recruiting expenses for all sports: $1,657,753
• Recruiting expenses for football in 2018: $685,834
• Percentage of total recruiting expenses spent on football: 41.37%

• Recruiting expenses for all sports: $2,125,054
• Recruiting expenses for football in 2018: $692,972
• Percentage of total recruiting expenses spent on football: 32.61%

• Recruiting expenses for all sports: $1,683,435
• Recruiting expenses for football in 2018: $704,836
• Percentage of total recruiting expenses spent on football: 41.87%

• Recruiting expenses for all sports: $1,740,611
• Recruiting expenses for football in 2018: $714,872
• Percentage of total recruiting expenses spent on football: 41.07%

• Recruiting expenses for all sports: $1,817,717
• Recruiting expenses for football in 2018: $715,492
• Percentage of total recruiting expenses spent on football: 39.36%

• Recruiting expenses for all sports: $1,847,150
• Recruiting expenses for football in 2018: $724,742
• Percentage of total recruiting expenses spent on football: 39.24%

• Recruiting expenses for all sports: $1,740,460
• Recruiting expenses for football in 2018: $727,972
• Percentage of total recruiting expenses spent on football: 41.83%

• Recruiting expenses for all sports: $2,069,031
• Recruiting expenses for football in 2018: $739,680
• Percentage of total recruiting expenses spent on football: 35.75%

• Recruiting expenses for all sports: $1,620,167
• Recruiting expenses for football in 2018: $764,620
• Percentage of total recruiting expenses spent on football: 47.19%

• Recruiting expenses for all sports: $1,689,263
• Recruiting expenses for football in 2018: $766,139
• Percentage of total recruiting expenses spent on football: 45.35%

• Recruiting expenses for all sports: $2,718,456
• Recruiting expenses for football in 2018: $791,863
• Percentage of total recruiting expenses spent on football: 29.13%

• Recruiting expenses for all sports: $1,881,103
• Recruiting expenses for football in 2018: $824,271
• Percentage of total recruiting expenses spent on football: 43.82%

• Recruiting expenses for all sports: $2,128,667
• Recruiting expenses for football in 2018: $861,747
• Percentage of total recruiting expenses spent on football: 40.48%

• Recruiting expenses for all sports: $2,819,239
• Recruiting expenses for football in 2018: $944,354
• Percentage of total recruiting expenses spent on football: 33.50%

• Recruiting expenses for all sports: $1,883,458
• Recruiting expenses for football in 2018: $984,871
• Percentage of total recruiting expenses spent on football: 52.29%

• Recruiting expenses for all sports: $1,878,901
• Recruiting expenses for football in 2018: $997,019
• Percentage of total recruiting expenses spent on football: 53.06%

• Recruiting expenses for all sports: $1,964,161
• Recruiting expenses for football in 2018: $1,052,271
• Percentage of total recruiting expenses spent on football: 53.57%

• Recruiting expenses for all sports: $2,038,311
• Recruiting expenses for football in 2018: $1,079,430
• Percentage of total recruiting expenses spent on football: 52.96%

• Recruiting expenses for all sports: $2,215,207
• Recruiting expenses for football in 2018: $1,081,075
• Percentage of total recruiting expenses spent on football: 48.80%

• Recruiting expenses for all sports: $2,083,737
• Recruiting expenses for football in 2018: $1,081,836
• Percentage of total recruiting expenses spent on football: 51.92%

• Recruiting expenses for all sports: $2,326,971
• Recruiting expenses for football in 2018: $1,141,379
• Percentage of total recruiting expenses spent on football: 49.05%

• Recruiting expenses for all sports: $2,329,421
• Recruiting expenses for football in 2018: $1,155,802
• Percentage of total recruiting expenses spent on football: 49.62%

• Recruiting expenses for all sports: $2,545,583
• Recruiting expenses for football in 2018: $1,250,674
• Percentage of total recruiting expenses spent on football: 49.13%

• Recruiting expenses for all sports: $2,542,581
• Recruiting expenses for football in 2018: $1,264,809
• Percentage of total recruiting expenses spent on football: 49.75%

• Recruiting expenses for all sports: $2,661,602
• Recruiting expenses for football in 2018: $1,287,344
• Percentage of total recruiting expenses spent on football: 48.37%

• Recruiting expenses for all sports: $2,708,778
• Recruiting expenses for football in 2018: $1,369,428
• Percentage of total recruiting expenses spent on football: 50.56%

• Recruiting expenses for all sports: $3,011,982
• Recruiting expenses for football in 2018: $1,397,784
• Percentage of total recruiting expenses spent on football: 46.41%

• Recruiting expenses for all sports: $2,557,066
• Recruiting expenses for football in 2018: $1,581,347
• Percentage of total recruiting expenses spent on football: 61.84%

• Recruiting expenses for all sports: $3,036,727
• Recruiting expenses for football in 2018: $1,710,101
• Percentage of total recruiting expenses spent on football: 56.31%

• Recruiting expenses for all sports: $2,804,471
• Recruiting expenses for football in 2018: $1,790,976
• Percentage of total recruiting expenses spent on football: 63.86%

• Recruiting expenses for all sports: $3,199,072
• Recruiting expenses for football in 2018: $1,823,307
• Percentage of total recruiting expenses spent on football: 56.99%

• Recruiting expenses for all sports: $3,310,990
• Recruiting expenses for football in 2018: $2,344,057
• Percentage of total recruiting expenses spent on football: 70.80%

• Recruiting expenses for all sports: $3,990,422
• Recruiting expenses for football in 2018: $2,626,622
• Percentage of total recruiting expenses spent on football: 65.82%

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Methodology: GOBankingRates sourced data from the WatchStadium article “This Is How Much It Costs to Land One of College Football’s Top Recruiting Classes,” which looked at fiscal year 2018 budgets for football recruiting at 55 public Division I universities. Along with football recruiting numbers, GOBankingRates looked at overall recruiting budgets, five- and four-star recruits that signed with each university over the last two years (2018 and 2019) and the ranking of each university’s recruiting class for 2018 and 2019. The only factor considered for the final ranking was the total amount spent on football recruiting for fiscal year 2018. GOBankingRates found in-state and out-of-state tuition for each university listed as supplemental data. All data was collected and up-to-date as of Jan. 13, 2020.