According to the Indianapolis Star, Wisconsin finished dead last in recruiting expenses, investing only $100,000 in future pools of talent. Despite contributing a small percentage to the Big Ten’s overall dollars in basketball recruiting, Wisconsin managed to appear in back-to-back Final Fours and featured players, Frank Kaminsky and Sam Dekker.
Not surprisingly, Indiana filled the first place slot, spending over $670,000. Following suit were programs, Illinois ($431,327), Nebraska ($416,096) and Minnesota ($359,056).
Nearly identical to how Nike won over a sponsorship deal with Michigan as the lowest bidder, the following basketball programs retained the best of the Big Ten conference, yet shelled out the least amount of dollars in recruiting: Michigan State ($256,167), Maryland ($104,889) and Michigan ($234,090).
2014-15 Big Ten Summary in Top 5 Finishes (via Sports Reference)
1. Wisconsin (16-2; 2014-15 Big Ten champions; L 63-68 vs Duke in NCAAB Finals)
2. Maryland (14-4; L 58-62 vs MSU in Big Ten tourney semi’s)
3. Michigan State (12-6; L 69-80 vs Wisconsin in Big Ten tourney)
4. Iowa (12-6; L 58-67 vs PSU in conference’s 2nd rd.)
5. Purdue (12-6; L 51-71 vs Wisconsin in conference semi’s)
An in-depth summary of the Big Ten’s financial spending for the 2013-14 season can be viewed HERE.
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*Featured Photo (above) credit to USA TODAY Sports
