Records show Jim Harbaugh spent nearly $136K in 2015 recruiting
Seems reasonable.
http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/14766790/records-show-ji…
February 12th, 2016 at 2:43 PM ^
February 12th, 2016 at 3:16 PM ^
Hell yes they will, that's nothing. Shit, Auburn spent that much on Cam Newton alone a few years back!
February 12th, 2016 at 3:34 PM ^
If anything, the AD should be pissed that Harbaugh didn't hit 7 figures.
February 12th, 2016 at 4:22 PM ^
Q. Is Michigan football showing a profit?
A. Why yes, a very healthy one at that.
Q. Is the athletic department making a profit or breaking even?
A. Why yes, it is.
End of discussion!!!!!
February 12th, 2016 at 2:44 PM ^
Michigan football profited like $56 million in 2014. So, yes, that is reasonable!
February 13th, 2016 at 12:07 AM ^
Sleeping on a recruit's floor saves a bundle.
February 12th, 2016 at 2:44 PM ^
Worth it, no question
February 12th, 2016 at 2:48 PM ^
February 12th, 2016 at 2:53 PM ^
People have and will always hate Michigan. They're just jealous freaks.
February 12th, 2016 at 3:23 PM ^
Jealous freaks is generous. I have a lot of other adjectives and pronouns to describe them.
February 12th, 2016 at 4:19 PM ^
A wise man once said, "if the haters aren't hatin you, you're doing something wrong."
February 12th, 2016 at 3:01 PM ^
As was pointed out below, this originated with a USA Today writer, who filed a FOIA request to get the records.
February 12th, 2016 at 4:52 PM ^
February 12th, 2016 at 2:45 PM ^
February 13th, 2016 at 6:27 AM ^
The cost was for the private jet. I have clients that have private jets and I can attest that the operating costs of a jet are CRAZY expensive. You pay for rent to house the plane, pilot, mechanics, insurance, fuel, a ridiculous amount of maintenance and parts and a management company to oversee all of it.
Any University that uses a private jet will have similar costs.
February 12th, 2016 at 2:46 PM ^
Have to spend it to make it.
February 12th, 2016 at 2:53 PM ^
I dislike Notre Dame.
February 12th, 2016 at 11:35 PM ^
Its ok bro. We dislike you too. But lets throw some shrimp on the barby and crack a Fosters!
February 12th, 2016 at 3:04 PM ^
February 12th, 2016 at 2:47 PM ^
February 12th, 2016 at 2:58 PM ^
James Franklin signs off on this.
February 12th, 2016 at 3:03 PM ^
I recognize the Underwear Gnome theme, but here are some guesses at No. 4:
A."Coach up the recruited players with an enthusiasm unknown in the prior regime".
B."Prepare gameplans that make sense, make half-time (and in-game) adjustments, and pay attention to all three phases of the game"
C. "In your spare time, figure out ways to recruit that are good for the program, good for h.s. and college football players, and irritate the shit out of your competitors."
D. "Remember to heavily salt your fuck garden, so that when it's harvest time you still have nary a fuck to give."
Have I covered the most likely possibilities?
February 13th, 2016 at 7:28 AM ^
February 12th, 2016 at 2:48 PM ^
I often travel for work & know that is almost nothing considering hotels, rental cars, food, etc - it all adds up very fast.
Edit: That was just for the 2015 recruiting class so over a 12 day period. Still though, what is he going to do, not have a recruiting class??? What else is he supposed to do?
February 12th, 2016 at 3:01 PM ^
10 coaches can travel to recruit, I believe (HC + 9 assistants).
$136k/12 days = $11,333/day.
$11,333/10 coaches = $1,133 per coach per day.
One flight plus one rental car plus one hotel stay plus meals adds up to $1,133 pretty easily, especially considering travel was booked on little-to-no-notice because the staff was just assembled and targets identified and travel itineraries allocated quickly.
I booked flights today for a Monday business trip (DTW-LAS) for $1,200 in coach.
If there's a second flight involved, it's even more of a bargain.
February 12th, 2016 at 3:15 PM ^
They have a private plane, which means that the costs are somewhat different to calculate.
UM also pays Harbaugh alone $13699 per day, so the extra $10K/day for a short period is really not that significant.
February 13th, 2016 at 12:14 AM ^
And operating costs (variable/flight hours) for private aircraft run around $3000 per hour for a G5, $2000-2500 for Citations, Falcons, etc.
The fact that they did all they did in the shortened 2015 cycle for only $11k a day is remarkable.
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
February 12th, 2016 at 3:28 PM ^
no really.....
February 12th, 2016 at 9:46 PM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
February 12th, 2016 at 2:47 PM ^
Or... about the same amount as the cost of an Ole Miss 5*.
February 12th, 2016 at 3:39 PM ^
of the minimum salary for a rookie in the NFL
February 12th, 2016 at 2:47 PM ^
I bet the LEB spend this much on one recruit.
February 12th, 2016 at 3:06 PM ^
Thank you for using this acronym. I really want this to become standard nomenclature in these parts.
February 12th, 2016 at 3:20 PM ^
"I'm the bag man / Drivin' around / King of the South / Always got my hundreds rolled round / Ready for the drop / You know, I'm the bag man."
"Bag man, bag man, bag man."
February 12th, 2016 at 2:47 PM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
February 12th, 2016 at 2:49 PM ^
Here's the original USA Today article:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2016/02/12/jim-harbaugh-michigan-jet-travel/80283324/
Anyone else suspicious that the article was written by a reporter who largely covers the SEC? Even though it says they asked for this info last fall, it seems probable that there's some shady shit going on here. At the very least, it's shoddy reporting because there's no point of comparison. How much does Nick Saban spend on recruitng travel? Les Miles? etc.
February 12th, 2016 at 2:54 PM ^
Yes I am suspicious. This is a non story targeting Jim Harbaugh. You really want to raise your eyebrows at costs, start following the money on ANY of the major programs.
February 12th, 2016 at 3:44 PM ^
Exactly, this is a great non-story....(yawn).... just to rile up the anti-Harbaugh/Michigan fervor.
February 12th, 2016 at 2:55 PM ^
You're right, especially with a title like "Jim Harbaugh's jet travel valued at more than $10,000 a day".
Doesn't mention the cost of any other coach or school. It's yet another negative article (by someone with ties to the SEC) directed at Harbaugh and Michigan.
February 12th, 2016 at 6:24 PM ^
Article is from last year and cites 2012-2013 years, but shows that UM spent $665k on recruiting.
Alabama spent $984k; LSU: $577k; Auburn: $1.38M; Tennessee: $1.29M; Ohio St.: $565k; MSU: $627k
Article also points out that every school tracks these numbers differently and that different line items probably fall into different categories that might not be accurately captured under "recruiting".
Yahoo article provides that UM spent $585k in 2013-14 and $739k in 2014-2015
February 12th, 2016 at 2:49 PM ^
Very good return on investment. Hell I would pay an extra dollar per FB ticket to go into a recruiting fund.
February 12th, 2016 at 2:52 PM ^
The story is a non-story marketted by a large number. If anyone has ever flown private, it is very expensive and the relative cost compared to commercial flights don't come close to comparing. It isn't like its frivolous spending. I was lucky enough to hop on a private plane from Nashville to Key West and as an example, each person invited or per seat accounted for around 5 grand from my understanding. This was not a round trip flight. That was 5 grand for one way. You're accounting for pilot, airway, etc. In the grand scheme of things, I believe the investigation is trying to insinuate some frivolous flying, but we all know Harbaugh is grinding away when he's on the recruiting trail. Think about the costs of the Swarm camps alone.
All worth it in the grand scheme of things.
February 12th, 2016 at 2:53 PM ^
February 12th, 2016 at 2:53 PM ^
We should clarify that this isn't for all of the 2015 calendar year but just the final weeks of the 2015 recruiting class.
Harbaugh went on 18 plane trips during a 12-day stretch then. Wow.
February 12th, 2016 at 5:36 PM ^
This makes sense. Harbaugh was hired late & had 3 weeks to put a recruiting class together. It was a mad scramble and probably necessitated private transport to see as many recruits as possible. I am guessing the 2015-2016 numbers will look very similar to other schools.
February 12th, 2016 at 2:55 PM ^
It would have been $136,010 if not for Mr. Murphy's pancakes.
February 12th, 2016 at 3:34 PM ^
Expand seating to 136,010 in The Big House.............charge everyone $1 at first game......Balanced Budget, Done Deal.....Next?
February 12th, 2016 at 2:56 PM ^
For the achievement that it allowed, which was to salvage a 2015 class and move it from something near 70th, as I recall, to 40th overall, the investment was well worth it, in my opinion. To move from that to a Top 10 class this year probably is probably far more expensive, but it's the cost of doing business to get that level of talent.
Undoubtedly, someone down south will spin this as squandering the hard-earned money of the University Of Michigan, and they will give that quote just as they are boarding a chartered 757 on their way to an exotic locale about two states away.
February 12th, 2016 at 2:58 PM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
February 12th, 2016 at 2:59 PM ^