Dollars and sense: College sports tries to do more with less

Duggar Baucom has crunched the numbers and planned the itineraries. If anyone knows how to stretch a buck on the July recruiting trail, the VMI coach does. He'll drive where he can and fly only if he must, using tickets purchased far in advance to get the lowest fares. If plans fluctuate - if an event is canceled or a player he wants to see is a no-show - he'll think long and hard before paying expensive fees to change his ticket. "You just try to spend wisely," Baucom said.

He has no choice. VMI's basketball recruiting budget for fiscal 2009, the last year figures are available, was $17,954. By comparison, Virginia spent $171,045, Virginia Tech $146,607 and Old Dominion $90,191. By U.Va. standards, that was a frugal year. The Cavaliers spent an average of $228,563 chasing players over a four-year period, including $294,000 in 2006. VMI's four-year average was $28,000, Norfolk State's just $17,122.

The disparity in recruiting budgets is another example of the gap between college basketball's haves and have-nots. Big and small schools don't necessarily target the same players, but in the summer, most everyone turns up at the same events. Even schools like VMI and NSU that recruit mostly regionally must travel far from home to see the guys they're pursuing.

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