How Auburn football's recruiting budget stacks up against other SEC schools

AUBURN — It hasn't exactly been a great past six years for Auburn football.

The Tigers have posted a 44-32 record since 2017 and had back-to-back losing seasons for the first time in over two decades. They'll have their third head coach in seven years this fall.

During that run, Auburn has had its ups and downs in recruiting. Former coach Gus Malzahn brought in the No. 7 class in 2020, according to the 247Sports Composite, but that was followed by Bryan Harsin and his No. 19-ranked class in 2021 and No. 21 in 2022.

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While the Tigers have toiled, their biggest rivals have soared. Alabama is still a well-oiled machine, and Georgia won back-to-back national championships while Auburn was enduring sub-.500 seasons.

LSU had its 15-0 season in 2019 and went to the SEC Championship last year. Josh Heupel led Tennessee to its first season of double-digit wins in 15 years in 2022.

Recruiting, obviously, plays a role in that. Here's how Auburn's recruiting budget has stacked up to other public schools in Power 5 conferences, according to a USA TODAY report published earlier this month.

How does Auburn compare to other SEC programs?

AU has spent an average of $859,270.67 on recruiting over the last six seasons, which is good for No. 19 in the country and eighth in the SEC behind Georgia ($2.75 million), Alabama ($1.91 million), Tennessee ($1.79 million), Texas A&M ($1.57 million), Arkansas ($1.10 million), Florida ($1.07 million) and LSU ($983,769).

Texas ($1.30 million) and Oklahoma ($1.26 million) each have outspent AU ahead of joining the conference.

Auburn had its highest ranking during the 2017 fiscal year when it spent $1.08 million, a total that was top 10 in the nation and No. 5 in the SEC behind Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama and Texas A&M.

Pandemic hit Auburn harder than most

The COVID pandemic did a number on Auburn's recruiting budget. AU spent $638,643 during the 2020 fiscal year and $95,717 in 2021, marks that were No. 32 and No. 47 in the country among public universities in Power 5 conferences, respectively.

That decrease in 2021 was an 89% dip from Auburn's average. For comparison, Georgia suffered a 74.6% decrease from its average and Alabama saw its budget go down by 72.4% that same year. The Bulldogs still spent the third most in recruiting in 2021 − Oregon State ($804,502) and Texas ($713,374) were the only programs higher. Alabama sat at No. 7.

The only SEC program to be impacted harder than Auburn was Mississippi State. The Bulldogs saw their recruiting budget fall by 96.2% in 2021 ($15,617).

A spike in 2022

Auburn spent $1.31 million during the 2022 fiscal year, which is the most it has spent since at least 2017. Other programs, however, have increased spending just as much. AU ranked No. 18 in the country for 2022, just about in line with its average ranking over the past six years.

AU's spending in 2022 got it the No. 18-ranked recruiting class in 2023, according to the 247Sports Composite. Over the past six cycles, Auburn has averaged about the 15th-best class in the country.

Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on Twitter @rich_silva18.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn football: How Tigers' recruiting budget compares to rest of SEC