Recruiting spending is not the most reliable indicator of success among the schools trailing Stanford on the Directors’ Cup leaderboard. Or notoriously thrifty Wisconsin, which tied for 21st in all-sports success despite ranking second-to-last in the Power Five in men’s recruiting spending ($612,245, ahead of only Colorado’s average of $603,362.40). All of that said, how much does all-sports success actually matter? Although the Department of Education’s data does not break down recruiting spending by individual sports, here is an example. They’re spending money to make money, and devoting resources to ensure football success is the easiest path to that jackpot.

Source: Forbes June 05, 2018 12:17 UTC