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Kentucky Gets Good Return on Highest Recruiting Budget

Well, at least you can say Calipari gets a decent return on his money.  Kentucky coach John Calipari has brought a team from a third school to the Final Four, joining former Kentucky and current Louisville coach Rick Pitino as the only men to coach three different schools to the Final Four.  Pitino's Final Fours are still recognized by the NCAA, however, which, of course, Calipari's first two, Massachusetts and Memphis, are not.

What did I mean by a decent return on his money?  It turns out that the UK recruiting budget is the highest in the country, at least among public schools in the Big Six BCS conferences.  His budget edged Kansas $434,095 to $419,228, but the gulf between UK and fellow Final Four member UConn is wide.  Jim Calhoun struggles by on a mere $175,740, the 18th largest in the country and the 3rd largest in the Big East.  As a private school, Butler doesn't have to release information.  VCU, a member of the Colonial Athletic Association, wasn't included in the study but it's safe to assume that its budget is significantly smaller than either UK or UConn.

Full post as published by Sports Biz on March 27, 2011 (boomark / email).