How much does Ohio State football spend on recruiting? Much less than Michigan
Even with five top-five classes between 2018-23, the Ohio State football program has not had to spend as much money on recruiting as other programs in the Big Ten.
According to NCAA financial reports obtained by the USA TODAY Sports Network, the Buckeyes spent $1.3 million on recruiting during the 2022 fiscal year behind Michigan — which led all Big Ten teams with spending $2.2 million in the last fiscal year — Rutgers, Penn State and Maryland.
Over the past five fiscal years, Ohio State has spent, on average, $845,113.33 on recruiting, which is less than Michigan, Penn State, Nebraska, Minnesota and Rutgers.
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The Buckeyes rank No. 21 in the country in average recruiting expenses since 2017.
Between 2017-22, Michigan is one of two Big Ten teams, along with Penn State, to average more than $1 million per fiscal year on recruiting, spending an average $1.4 million on each of the past five recruiting cycles.
Last year, Georgia led all college football programs after spending $4.51 million on recruiting, doubling its budget from the $2.27 million spend in 2017: the first fiscal year under coach Kirby Smart. Since 2017, the Bulldogs are the only program to average more than $2 million in each of the past five fiscal years.
Georgia, Alabama, Florida State, Tennessee, Clemson, Texas A&M, Texas, Oklahoma and Michigan are the only programs to eclipse $2 million in at least one fiscal year.
Between 2017-22, Ohio State has averaged the sixth-best recruiting class in the country, recording a second-ranked class 2017, 2018 and 2021. Michigan and Penn State finished ahead of Ohio State only once in that span: 2019, when the Buckeyes had the No. 14 class in the country.
In 2023, Ohio State finished with the No. 5 recruiting class in the country per 247Sports composite rankings behind Alabama, Georgia, Texas and Oklahoma.
In 2022, five SEC schools — Georgia, Texas A&M, Tennessee, Alabama and Florida — were in the top 10 in terms of recruiting spending, while Michigan was the Big Ten's only representative.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Here's what Ohio State football has spent on recruiting since 2017
