Florida State Football: Recruiting Budget Helps Explain Why Cash Matters to FSU

If there was any lingering doubt about the commitment of Florida State to football, we can remove that with the recent revelation about their stepping up of the recruiting budgets.

As USA Today reports, the Seminoles have been burning down the recruiting trail with chartered airplanes. Getting coaches all over the state and the south to get in touch for recruits to make that final push is a critical part of the job, and Florida State is most certainly not playing around on that level.

As a whole, they have boosted their recruiting budget. CoachingSearch.com reports an increase of $245,000—from $280,000 to $525,000—in total recruiting under Fisher when compared to the final years of Bobby Bowden. That's a big growth and huge number to sustain, especially when the Seminoles are looking to run down and out-recruit the likes of budget behemoths Alabama, Auburn, Georgia and Florida. 

The money itself is not the issue, rather the issue here is that for Florida State to sustain these increases, retain Jimbo Fisher and staff and work with the new improved amenities for the program, they need more money coming in on the front end.

This need for cash accentuates the reason the Seminoles and their fans worry about money. The same can be said for Clemson and Virginia Tech to some degree. This issue has become about more than just wins and losses: It is about setting your program up for success, and that takes cash.

Florida State is right to be worried; they should be concerned. They should be exploring all of their options and the ramifications that would come with each path. The Seminoles are not playing a game against just the ACC—they have to play against the big boys of the college football world, and that takes money.