Peter Jok Iowa

Some schools want to win, and will pay to get it done.

A new report from the Des Moines Register have five years of data (along with USA Today) that show a massive spending difference in recruiting budget versus other area schools:

ISU ranks No. 8 nationally out of more than 200 public universities that play at the NCAA Division I level in the five school years from 2008-09 to 2012-13. ISU’s average expense computes to $260,767 annually, according to detailed data provided to the Des Moines Register through open-records requests gathered by USA TODAY.

Winning at college athletics – at least at the big money sports like football and basketball isn’t just about school pride. It’s big business. Anyone who thinks a college would spend over a quarter of a million dollars per year (and rank 8th in the country in spending, not first) just because of school pride of because they want to support student athletes is just kidding themselves. Or, getting a cut.