BYU Has Tripled Investment in Recruiting Since Joining Big 12

Each year, athletic departments report their annual revenues and expenses to the US Department of Education. It is required per the Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act. Those revenues and expenses become public one year later on the US Department of Education website.

BYU's first season in the Big 12 was from 2023-2024. Therefore, BYU's financial disclosures from their inaugural Big 12 season are just now becoming public information. In these disclosures, we can peek under the hood at BYU's investing strategy when they moved to a Power conference.

The area where BYU increased its investments the most? Recruiting.

If you follow BYU recruiting, even from a distance, you have probably noticed that BYU recruiting has been trending up. BYU has added 11 four-star recruits since the end of the 2024 season. While there are multiple factors contributing to BYU's recruiting rise (NIL, P4 membership, 2024 success, etc.), the increased investment in recruiting resources plays a critical role.

Compared to Power Five schools back in 2021, BYU was severely under-funded in the recruiting department. In fact, BYU was almost dead last in recruiting spend among current Big 12 schools, narrowly edging out Houston by $1k. The average Big 12 school spent $1.6M that year - BYU spent $0.7M. Texas Tech invested the most in recruiting at $2.8M.

Big 12 Athletic Department Recruiting Spend 2021

1. Texas Tech - $2.8M
2. Arizona - $2.6M
3. Baylor - $2.0M
4. Utah - $2.0M
5. West Virginia - $1.9M
6. Kansas - $1.9M
7. Kansas State - $1.8M
8. Iowa State - $1.6M
9. TCU - $1.6M
10. Oklahoma State - $1.3M
11. Arizona State $1.3M
12. Colorado - $1.2M
13. Cincinnati - $1.2M
14. UCF - $1.0M
15. BYU - $0.7M
16. Houston - $0.7M

The data suggests that BYU identified the need to invest more in recruiting and put it at the top of the priority list. From 2021 to 2023, BYU tripled its investment in recruiting. The Cougars increased spend by +202%, the largest increase of any line item in their budget.

On a percentage basis, that was the biggest increase among Big 12 schools. For the 2023 season, BYU invested $2.2M in recruiting. $2.2M put BYU right around the Big 12 average.

Big 12 Athletic Department Recruiting Spend 2023

1. Texas Tech - $3.5M
2. Arizona - $3.2M
3. Arizona State - $2.9M
4. Baylor - $2.8M
5. Utah - $2.6M
6. Kansas - $2.4M
7. TCU - $2.4M
8. Oklahoma State - $2.4M
9. BYU - $2.2M
10. West Virginia - $1.9M
11. Kansas State - $1.8M
12. UCF - $1.8M
13. Iowa State - $1.6M
14. Colorado - $1.6M
15. Houston - $1.4M
16. Cincinnati - $1.2M

While recruiting is too complex to point to any singular driver, BYU's added recruiting investment appears to be paying off. The basketball program is recruiting at an all-time high, and the football program has recruited at a higher level by every measure.

As the saying goes, recruiting is the lifeblood of college sports. BYU has identified that and started investing like the Power Four program that they are.