Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Griffin
There was an interesting story that appeared earlier this week in the Chronicle of Higher Education about college sports recruiting. And it didn't have guru Tom Lemming quoted anywhere in it.
Instead, the Chronicle delved deeply into U.S. Department of Education statistics to come up with some fascinating numbers that had the Big 12 mentioned prominently among the largest spending Division I-A schools in athletic recruiting.
The Big 12 ranked second among the Bowl Championship Series-affiliated conferences in money spent on recruiting with more than $11.5 million spent in the 2006-07 fiscal year. That total represents a 73 percent increase from 1997 and places the Big 12 second behind only the Southeastern Conference.
The team that spends the most on recruiting in the Big 12 might surprise you. It's Kansas State, which ranked fifth nationally with a total of $1.316 million, an increase of 267 percent from 1997 and a 110 percent increase from 2002.
The reason for Kansas State's philosophical change came when Ron Prince was hired to replace Bill Snyder. Instead of mining the areas near the school's Manhattan campus, Prince opted for a national recruiting philosophy dotted with players from both coasts. Men's basketball coach Frank Martin has made a similar change from Jim Wooldridge's old ways.
The Chronicle reports that 54 percent of Kansas State's athletes are from out of state. The school's biggest obstacle is location, as its nearest major airport is in Kansas City, Mo. That two-hour drive catches the attention of recruits. Also the fact that one of the most expedient routes to the school takes recruits through Lawrence, Kansas, the home of Kansas.
That leads to the use of private planes by KSU coaches, which the Chronicle estimates will cost Kansas State more than $450,000 this season.
Here's a list developed by the Chronicle of Higher Education for the 15 schools with the highest recruiting budgets in the country. Big 12 teams are highlighted in bold.
| School | 2006-07
recruiting budget | 2007-08
Director's Cup
rankings | | Tennessee | $2.01 million | 16 | | Notre Dame | $1.76 million | 21 | | Florida | $1.45 million | 6 | | Auburn | $1.37 million | 20 | | Kansas State | $1.32 million | 71 | | Georgia | $1.28 million | 31 | | Nebraska | $1.28 million | 31 | | Arkansas | $1.26 million | 24 | | Duke | $1.25 million | 19 | | Ohio State | $1.24 million | 11 | | Illinois | $1.20 million | 34 | | Texas | $1.16 million | 5 | | Syracuse | $1.12 million | 87 | | Oklahoma | $1.12 million | 23 | | Virginia | $1.11 million | 17 |
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Source: The Chronicle for Higher Education.
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Tim Griffin joined ESPN.com in February 2008. He has covered the Big 12 since its inception, among a variety of beats during a 24-year career at the San Antonio Express-News. Griffin, a Memphis State University graduate, lives in San Antonio with his wife and son.
