Iowa is doing more with less: A look at Big Ten football recruiting spending
College football recruiting has seen its landscape drastically change in the last few years. Between high school recruits, the transfer portal, junior college players, and NIL deals, there are endless items to navigate.
One thing that doesn’t change, though, is that recruiting costs a significant amount and is only increasing in its price. USA TODAY Sports dove into the most recent recruiting expenditures of each Big Ten team and their averages from 2017-2022. The Big Ten saw every single team spend more in 2022 than their 2017-2022 average which highlights the cost of success.
The Iowa Hawkeyes seem to make their dollar go the furthest of any school in the conference. Iowa has sustained success since 2017 with eight wins each year aside from the COVID-shortened 2020 season where they finished 6-2.
The Hawkeyes have done so while ranking near the bottom nationally among Power 5 programs in terms of money spent on average from 2017-2022. Iowa spent the least on recruiting in 2022 among Big Ten schools that USA TODAY Sports could obtain financial reports for.
Here is a look at where Iowa sits and the spending from the other schools in the Big Ten. Northwestern is not included as their numbers are not reported.
Iowa Hawkeyes
Joseph Cress / USA TODAY NETWORK
Iowa 2022 spending: $577,589
Iowa 2017-2022 average spending: $459,128
Indiana Hoosiers
Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports
Indiana 2022 spending: $826,713
Indiana 2017-2022 average spending: $606,147
Wisconsin Badgers
Jamie Sabau-USA TODAY Sports
Wisconsin 2022 spending: $857,490
Wisconsin 2017-2022 average spending: $392,724
Purdue Boilermakers
Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Purdue 2022 spending: $878,651
Purdue 2017-2022 average spending: $602,360
Michigan State Spartans
(Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images)
Michigan State 2022 spending: $955,303
Michigan State 2017-2022 average spending: $721,879
Nebraska Cornhuskers
Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Nebraska 2022 spending: $1,020,050
Nebraska 2017-2022 average spending: $937,279
Minnesota Golden Gophers
Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Minnesota 2022 spending: $1,127,389
Minnesota 2017-2022 average spending: $904,139
Illinois Fighting Illini
Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Illinois 2022 spending: $1,157,460
Illinois 2017-2022 average spending: $749,850
Ohio State Buckeyes
Syndication: The Columbus Dispatch
Ohio State 2022 spending: $1,292,799
Ohio State 2017-2022 average spending: $845,113
Maryland Terrapins
Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports
Maryland 2022 spending: $1,380,974
Maryland 2017-2022 average spending: $683,200
Penn State Nittany Lions
Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports
Penn State 2022 spending: $1,486,521
Penn State 2017-2022 average spending: $1,240,848
Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports
Rutgers 2022 spending: $1,609,032
Rutgers 2017-2022 average spending: $879,494
Michigan Wolverines
Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
Michigan 2022 spending: $2,240,064
Michigan 2017-2022 average spending: $1,353,431
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