Last Updated on June 5, 2014
So far on The Ohio State University Week on BusinessofCollegeSports.com we’ve looked at the line item budget for football and the overall athletic department budget. Today, we’re going to look at how Ohio State allocates it’s $1.24 million recruiting budget across all sports.
Below you will see the budget for each team for both the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 seasons. I’ve also included the percentage by which the budget has gone up or down for each sport and the percentage in relation to the total recruiting budget. The list is sorted from largest budget to smallest for the 2011-2012 school year.
| 2010-2011 | 2011-2012 | % Change | ||
| Football | $484,000.00 | $438,500.00 | -9.40 | 35.50% |
| Basketball – Men’s | $144,200.00 | $136,500.00 | -5.30 | 11.05% |
| Basketball – Women’s | $87,810.00 | $87,810.00 | 0.00 | 7.11% |
| Ice Hockey – Men’s | $63,170.00 | $85,000.00 | 34.60 | 6.88% |
| Volleyball – Women’s | $45,085.00 | $40,395.00 | -10.40 | 3.27% |
| Soccer – Women’s | $31,765.00 | $33,505.00 | 5.50 | 2.71% |
| Ice Hockey – Women’s | $30,000.00 | $28,000.00 | -6.70 | 2.27% |
| Swimming – Women’s | $31,500.00 | $26,780.00 | -15.00 | 2.17% |
| Swimming – Men’s | $25,840.00 | $26,390.00 | 2.10 | 2.14% |
| Lacrosse – Women’s | $20,200.00 | $24,575.00 | 21.70 | 1.99% |
| Soccer – Men’s | $23,200.00 | $23,400.00 | 0.90 | 1.89% |
| Softball | $23,085.00 | $23,125.00 | 0.20 | 1.87% |
| Crew – Women’s | $19,120.00 | $21,700.00 | 13.50 | 1.76% |
| Wrestling | $20,160.00 | $19,010.00 | -5.70 | 1.54% |
| Baseball | $13,175.00 | $18,090.00 | 37.30 | 1.46% |
| Tennis – Men’s | $18,448.00 | $18,060.00 | -2.10 | 1.46% |
| Track – Women’s | $16,050.00 | $15,930.00 | -0.70 | 1.29% |
| Golf – Women’s | $15,120.00 | $15,550.00 | 2.80 | 1.26% |
| Tennis – Women’s | $15,500.00 | $15,260.00 | -1.50 | 1.24% |
| Lacrosse – Men’s | $14,005.00 | $14,035.00 | 0.20 | 1.14% |
| Track & CC- Men’s | $15,380.00 | $13,625.00 | -11.40 | 1.10% |
| Field Hockey – Women’s | $12,985.00 | $13,525.00 | 4.20 | 1.10% |
| Volleyball – Men’s | $12,685.00 | $12,390.00 | -2.30 | 1.00% |
| Gymnastics – Women’s | $16,360.00 | $12,265.00 | -25.00 | 0.99% |
| Golf- Men’s | $12,178.00 | $12,200.00 | 0.20 | 0.99% |
| Gymnastics – Men’s | $12,115.00 | $10,460.00 | -13.70 | 0.85% |
| Diving – Women’s | $6,075.00 | $9,075.00 | 0.00 | 0.73% |
| Fencing – Men’s | $7,085.00 | $8,000.00 | 12.90 | 0.65% |
| Fencing – Women’s | $7,085.00 | $8,000.00 | 12.90 | 0.65% |
| Diving – Men’s | $8,295.00 | $7,650.00 | -7.80 | 0.62% |
| Synchronized Swimming | $5,880.00 | $5,880.00 | 0.00 | 0.48% |
| Rifle | $4,130.00 | $5,710.00 | 38.30 | 0.46% |
| CC – Women’s | $3,690.00 | $2,453.00 | -33.50 | 0.20% |
| Pistol | $2,380.00 | $2,300.00 | -3.40 | 0.19% |
| $1,267,756.00 | $1,235,148.00 | -0.03 | ||
I’m sure no one is surprised to see football and men’s and women’s basketball at the top of the list. In fact, the percentage of recruiting dollars allocated to football was less than I expected at 35.5 percent. For a sport that brings in over 73% of the total revenue generated by individual teams, I wouldn’t have been shocked to see something closer to 50 percent.
As you can see, the recruiting budget for football will be decreasing for the upcoming year. Football’s declining budget may be a a part of an overall decrease in the football budget due to one fewer home game in 2011 than in 2010, which is projected to reduce football revenue by about $3 million.
As for the fluctuations in other sports there are a number of reasons. I asked about the over 34% increase in recruiting budget for men’s ice hockey and was told that it was a product of a new coach who wanted to place a greater emphasis on recruiting. In looking at the line item budget for men’s ice hockey, there is an overall 4.8% increase in expenses for the 2011-2012 school year, although there is also a 4.5% increase expected in revenue with increased ticket sales.
One of the biggest decreases in recruiting budget comes in women’s gymnastics. However, a look at their line item budget tells me they’re getting a 2.3% increase in their total budget for 2011-2012 with large increases for lodging and clothing and equipment. Women’s cross country, which will also be operating with a decreased recruiting budget is getting an overall increase in their budget with a 133% increase for lodging and a 240% increase for clothing and equipment.
Obviously recruiting budgets can also fluctuate based on the number of scholarships expected to be available for a sport in any given year and what the coach believes to be his or her needs for the year.
Are you surprised at the percentage of recruiting dollars that go to football? Did you expect it to be higher or lower? What about the overall total spent on recruiting? Were you shocked to find it’s just $1.24 million?
Author
Kristi A. Dosh is the founder of BusinessofCollegeSports.com and has served as a sports business analyst and contributor for outlets such as Forbes, ESPN, SportsBusiness Journal, Bleacher Report, SB Nation and more. She is also the author of a book on the business of college football, Saturday Millionaires. Kristi is a sought-after consultant and speaker on topics related to the business of college sports and a former practicing attorney. Click to learn more
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Razorbuck
July 8, 2011 at 3:53 pm
Tressel always made offers and gave official visits selectively. Many schools use a shotgun approach and had out offers like candy. OSU under Tressel did not. That is the reason for the lower budget, IMWO.