February 9, 2023 · 9:00 AM

ABC ain’t cheap.

And Georgia doesn’t stint when it comes to recruiting.

Georgia football is recruiting at an elite level and its athletic department is sparing no expense for the two-time national champions.

The Bulldogs spent just over $4.5 million on football recruiting during the school’s 2022 fiscal year, according to an NCAA financial report the athletics department provided Wednesday to the Athens Banner-Herald in response to an open-records request.

No other program at a Power Five public school has come close to that number so far for 2022.

Texas A&M is No. 2 at $2.98 million and Tennessee is No. 3 at $2.92 million, followed by Texas at $2.44 million and Alabama at $2.32 million, according to documents obtained by the USA TODAY Network in partnership with the Knight-Newhouse Data project at Syracuse University.

That’s not a one year thing, either.

It started from the moment Smart set foot on campus.

Smart set the tone for his aggressive recruiting approach when Georgia spent $342,118 from Dec. 7, 2015 to Jan. 29, 2016 after he was hired on air and helicopter charters which have come to be known as the “Kirby Copter.”

Georgia staff members traveled on some 140 charter flights that totaled $850,610 through Georgia Jet and Atlanta Air Charter during fiscal year 2019 when the school spent nearly $3.7 million on football recruiting. Another $83,260 was spent on helicopters.

“Time spent going slow doesn’t work,” Smart said in 2016. “We had to get to a lot of places in a short amount of time. We want to use every advantage we can to try to get to see as many kids as you can. That was basically the goal there.”

Remember, McGarity made Richt fly commercial to visit Jacob Eason just two weeks before Kirby went whirlybird on him.  Boy, that must have been a real 180 for Greg.  Sure has paid off, though.

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67 Comments

Filed under Georgia Football, Recruiting

67 responses to “ABC ain’t cheap.”

  1. classiccitycanine
    February 9, 2023 at 9:03 AM

    The question is how is Alabama beating us on the recruiting trail (according to 247) and spending significantly less than we are?

    Liked by 1 person

  2. FlyingPeakDawg
    February 9, 2023 at 9:06 AM

    If I recall, the one capital improvement McG approved in Sanford was some urinals. We should dedicate those in his name so we can forever piss on him.

    Liked by 20 people

  3. NotMyCrossToBear
    February 9, 2023 at 9:06 AM

    Don’t think the numbers would be available but it’d be interesting to see the amount of money paid to incoming freshmen in NIL.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Gaskilldawg
      February 9, 2023 at 9:47 AM

      You cannot get that through an open records request to the UGA AA because zero UGA AA dollars and zero UGA AA cents are paid to players for NIL rights.

      Like

  4. Justin Perez (@jperez3209)
    February 9, 2023 at 9:19 AM

    Am I the only one who looks at that number and says, “Really, that’s it?” Seems like such a low number in the grands scheme of things. Think about all these schools paying exorbitant buyouts who could have just planned on giving those funds to help a head coach have a top-notch recruiting operation. Just seems wild in this world of exploding Athletics budgets that the cream of the crop Football program spent just over half on recruiting that FSU is going to pay Mike Norvell next year. Just wild to me. Hell, let’s spend $10 million.

    Liked by 5 people

    • whb209
      February 9, 2023 at 9:34 AM

      I look at those numbers and I don’t mind a bit to pay my Hartman fund payment and ticket prices. At least I know where it is going and I am please with the results.

      Liked by 2 people

    • Tony BarnFart
      February 9, 2023 at 11:47 AM

      Good point. I’ve sort of always said the same thing about Monken. Ok, sure he can’t make as much as Kirby…..but like, why not make it really really hard to leave by offering him say $7million ? We spend as much on things with seemingly much less tangible translation to success.

      Like

  5. uga97
    February 9, 2023 at 9:23 AM

    The day Kirby sent Greg on a one way whirly bird to Jacksonville, was the day the rings really started to fall.

    Liked by 6 people

    • godawgs1701
      February 9, 2023 at 9:45 AM

      2nd and 26 will always hurt, but I do take some measure of happiness from the fact that Greg McGarity doesn’t get to wear one of Kirby’s national championship rings.

      Liked by 7 people

  6. Corch Irvin Meyers, Former Jags Corch (2021)
    February 9, 2023 at 9:24 AM

    While would still likely lead in recruiting expenditure, the fact that our coaches have to take chartered flights is the biggest reason why we spend so much money on our recruiting budget.

    All other SEC schools use their private jet(s) for recruiting, and the expenses those jets incur (maintenance, fuel, pilot pay, etc.) are ALWAYS in a different byline or department far away from “recruiting expenditures.”

    It’s funny how the media NEVER mentions this in these articles.

    Liked by 3 people

  7. David D
    February 9, 2023 at 9:27 AM

    I’m all for investing for a return on investment, but I gotta say that Kirby Copter makes me nervous. I don’t like those things. At all.

    Liked by 4 people

    • ben
      February 9, 2023 at 9:37 AM

      I’m with you. The way he was on that thing a year or so after Kobe was killed just makes me so nervous. I mean, he’s a grown man and all, but I think Brooks should say, “No chopper anymore.”

      Like

    • One of the posters known as Mark
      February 9, 2023 at 9:44 AM

      My guess is you are either a fixed-wing pilot or a military vet who flew on helicopters a lot.

      Liked by 1 person

      • David D
        February 9, 2023 at 9:55 AM

        Neither, but I worked in local TV for a time and we lost a talented reporter and photographer in a “well maintained” chopper about 20 years ago.

        Liked by 2 people

    • Russ
      February 9, 2023 at 9:52 AM

      Yeah, airplanes want to fly by design. Helicopters just beat the air into submission. I used to work with crop dusters (all crazy by their own admission). One of the guys flew a helicopter and the other crop dusters thought he was crazy.

      Liked by 1 person

    • RangerRuss
      February 9, 2023 at 10:01 AM

      I’d feel safer flying in a wore out Huey than driving/riding on the interstate.

      Liked by 3 people

      • ben
        February 9, 2023 at 10:08 AM

        Which is probably why you’re a military guy, and I’m in the field I’m in!

        Like

        • RangerRuss
          February 9, 2023 at 10:23 AM

          😉
          Man, that was the best part of my military experience. The only thing that beat flying in a Blackhawk to an air assault was putting my knees in the breeze under a dash one bravo and slipping in to a soft DZ.

          Like

      • mykiesee
        February 9, 2023 at 10:15 AM

        With Ride of The Valkyries playing at high decibels?

        Liked by 2 people

        • RangerRuss
          February 9, 2023 at 10:29 AM

          💪🏼

          Like

          • siskey
            February 9, 2023 at 11:20 AM

            RangerRuss I would ride in a Huey but I was never comfortable in a 53 or a 46. Thankfully I never had to ride in an Osprey. I like to think that I would have said nope not a fucking chance.
            I too get nervous about Kirby flying around everywhere. I live in the flight plan of the Zaxby guy’s helicopter and it is constantly buzzing over 316 and 78.

            Like

            • RangerRuss
              February 9, 2023 at 5:11 PM

              I hear ya, Siskey. Those older choppers beat walking. They had that going for them. Which is nice. I was more comfortable in Blackhawks when they were still fairly new.
              Osprey? No fuckn way.

              Like

      • Odontodawg
        February 9, 2023 at 11:55 PM

        Nothing beats a Huey. I had the privilege of rebuilding a surplus (war time) one from bare bones with an expert mechanic in Augusta then selling it to Chiquita Banana in South America to be used for spraying crops. Great summer experience during high school. Long days but slept well.

        Like

  8. Granthams Replacement
    February 9, 2023 at 9:38 AM

    My disgust for Mcgarity grows every time I think about all the money he horded.

    Liked by 1 person

  9. godawgs1701
    February 9, 2023 at 9:44 AM

    I would love to hear Mark Richt’s unvarnished thoughts about how Georgia spends money now as opposed to how the purse strings were handled when he was the coach. I suspect it would be fascinating.

    Liked by 2 people

  10. Russ
    February 9, 2023 at 9:47 AM

    I feel cheap every time I read “McGarity”.

    Liked by 1 person

  11. Dawgfan1995
    February 9, 2023 at 10:00 AM

    I’m just glad that the AJC did not report this story, for the obvious reasons of consistency pointed out yesterday.

    Liked by 1 person

  12. MGW
    February 9, 2023 at 10:07 AM

    Plenty of people thought a new direction was warranted even if 10 wins “ain’t bad.” But it would have been controversial. McGarrity was the only guy in position to do it. Rather than grow a pair and take a big swing, he chose to waste two-three years trying to hamstring Richt bad enough that he would fail on his own so the decision wouldn’t be controversial anymore.

    That wasted time cost us at least another title.

    Like

  13. dawgxian
    February 9, 2023 at 11:06 AM

    Richt was made to fly commercial because McGarity was days aways from firing him. He was trying to get McGarity to tip his hand about whether or not he was retaining him.

    Liked by 1 person

  14. Catfish
    February 9, 2023 at 11:25 AM

    Pimpin’ ain’t cheap.

    Liked by 1 person

  15. PTC DAWG
    February 9, 2023 at 11:30 AM

    What type of plane do our Coaches take when they hit up the west coast? Are we thinking they charter private jets every time?

    I’m thinking Richt new he was on thin ice when he made the trip to see Eason…

    Like

  16. jim1886
    February 9, 2023 at 12:34 PM

    It is worth every penny to Ga and the university. Ask the boosters, if it is worth it

    Like