Over the years, the recruiting scenario has shifted in college football. Thanks to the transfer portal. Back then, recruiting budgets were high since college football programs had to arrange for more official visits and conduct more in-home meetings. In this new era of text messages and phone calls, even though the budget dropped, Tennessee led the SEC charts. 

“Here’s where each SEC school stacked up in recruiting spending, besides Vanderbilt (if you would like to leak me Vanderbilt’s NCAA financial report, I am eminently reachable),” reported University of Alabama sports reporter Matt Stahl. 

Just because Vanderbilt operates as a private institution, it is not open to records requests and was therefore excluded from the rankings. The tweet was followed by a bar graph titled “SEC football recruiting spending FY 2025.”

The graph shows Tennessee crossing the $4,000,000 mark. Even though Alabama, too, crossed the mark, it sat below the Volunteers. According to the reports, last season, too, Tennessee was the first among the college football programs in the league at $5.38 million. At the same time, they reported $151.4 million, making them the only other SEC team to exceed $150 million in football revenue.

Even though Josh Heupel leads the SEC race in football recruiting spending in the 2025 financial year, it was a sizable drop-off from their 2024 spending, when they reportedly dished out $5.4 million in football recruiting expenses. Tennessee taking the lead among the SEC college football programs might be surprising for many. 

In the list, LSU is holding the 9th rank with spending below $2,000,000, while Texas is at 4th with their recruiting expenses standing between $3,000,000 to $4,000,000 among 15 SEC schools. But at the beginning of 2026, Texas was predicted to have college football’s ‘first $40 million roster.’ At the same time, former LSU head coach Brian Kelly claimed that LSU spent over $40 million to put up a roster for Lane Kiffin. 

Not just this, in between 2021-23, LSU spent $11 million on its roster combined, while for the 2024 season, they dished out $5.5 million. But over the years, Tennessee has been climbing the ladder. The college football program took the biggest jump in FY 2024, when it vaulted to the top in recruiting spending.

It came after the Volunteers were sixth among the SEC programs, spending $2.6 million in FY 2023. There was a time when their recruiting budget was as low as $1 million in 2014-15. 

How does the college football program distribute its recruiting spending?

SEC college football programs supercharge the recruiting game with good hospitality

Tennessee’s recruiting budget covers travel for recruits and up to two family members. At the same time, the college football program stands out for its hospitality. They ended up spending $46,496.82 on one catered dinner during a June 2024 recruiting weekend. And part of the credit goes to Heupel. 

“In the Josh Heupel era, Tennessee has committed to spending more than ever on college football recruiting. The Volunteers ranked No. 4 overall in football recruiting spending in 2022 with a $2.9 million budget. Since then, the budget has grown by 45% and sat at $5,378,984 in 2024,” wrote On3 Sports’ Pete Nakos.

Since they top the FY 2025 list, the 2026 recruiting class rankings serve as the Volunteers’ report card. According to On3, the college football program ranks No. 9, with 31 total recruits committed. On the first day of the early signing period, they succeeded in wooing 2026 four-star edge rusher Carter Gooden. Was it easy?

No. The college football program flipped his commitment from UCLA. At the same time, during this year’s transfer portal, Tennessee had almost bridged the gap by transferring in 21 players while losing 23 players. That’s how it paid for two years in a row, as Tennessee maintained its streak of spending big on recruiting.