Curt Weiler | Tallahassee Democrat

This hits home across college football — especially recruiting — spending is soaring.

For Florida State Athletic Director David Coburn, who was appointed the interim AD in August of 2018 and had the interim tag removed in May.

Coburn took over in the middle of a time where finances in major college athletics are surging like never before.

The Louisville Courier-Journal and the USA Today Sports Network obtained financial information from 52 public Power Five programs to put into perspective how much this spending has increased.

In the 2013 fiscal year, FSU spent $425,796 on football recruiting. By the 2018 fiscal year, that number shot up to over $1.58 million. That increase of 271.4% is the third-largest among the 52 schools listed in the story, trailing only Georgia and Texas A&M.

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A look at FSU football practice at IMG Academy on Aug. 13

"I don't think this is sustainable and I've said that publicly," Coburn told the Courier-Journal.

"I think there are very real risks in not trying to reign in the rate of growth in your athletic budget. And I don't think they are necessarily long term ... I think chickens are coming home to roost everywhere. With the exception of a very small number of schools, everyone is feeling the pressure."

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Since taking over, Coburn has scaled this back significantly. FSU spent $2.28 million on recruiting in 2017, the most of all 52 schools listed and over $600,000 more than FSU had allotted in its budget.

That number dropped nearly 31 percent to $1.58 million in 2018.

Prompted on where the sudden jump in expenses before his arrival came from, Coburn said he couldn't "really find anyone who can give me a good explanation for that jump."

He later added, "I suspect that there may have been more use of private planes that one particular year."

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That 2017 FSU recruiting class ranked sixth in the country per the 247Sports Composite Rankings. It included three five-star prospects in running back Cam Akers, defensive tackle Marvin Wilson and defensive end Joshua Kaindoh, all top-10 players in the class.

While Kaindoh was located in Bradenton at IMG Academy, Akers is from Clinton, Mississippi and Wilson is from Bellaire, Texas, just outside of Houston.

Somewhat regular flights to visit these prospects add to this total. FSU was also in on a number of top 2018 prospects around the country over this span. This list included five-star defensive end Micah Parsons from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, four-star wide receiver Jaylen Waddle from Bellaire, Texas and four-star outside linebacker Teradja Mitchell from Virginia Beach.

In the chaos that followed over the next few months at FSU, the Seminoles didn't land any of these prospects as Parsons went to Penn State, Waddle went to Alabama and Mitchell went to Ohio State.

While Coburn cut this spending in his first fiscal year as AD, he remains quite aware of why dedicated a competitive amount to recruiting remains essential.

Tori Schneider/Tallahassee Democrat

"I'm not sure that recruiting expenditures are any different than facilities expenditures or coaching salary expenditures, quite frankly," Coburn said.

"Practically, it's your lifeblood. You have to compete. You have to spend what you need to spend."

From 2013 to 2018, only six of the 52 schools included (Mississippi State, Illinois, Texas Tech, Arizona State, Georgia Tech and Auburn) saw their recruiting budget shrink.

Thirty-five schools had an increase of at least 50% over this span. Sixteen had an increase of over 100%.

Nationwide among these schools, recruiting budgets have increased by an average of 71.5% from 2013 to 2018.

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Florida State Seminoles first football practice of the season

From 2013 through 2018, FSU spent a combined $6.39 million on football recruiting. That's the sixth-most nationally among the schools included, trailing five SEC schools and Penn State.

Georgia's $9.73 million spent over that span is over $600,000 more than any other school. Alabama's $9.13 million is the second most. In all, eight of the top 15 spenders on football recruiting are in the SEC.

Clemson is the only other ACC school in the Top 15 in recruiting spending (eighth, $6.1 million) and North Carolina is the only other ACC program in the Top 25 (20th, $4.17 million).

FSU spent $1.1 million more on recruiting than the Florida Gators (11th, $5.29 million) over the same span.

Alicia Devine/Tallahassee Democrat

Looking solely at the 2018 recruiting numbers shifts the rankings somewhat. UGA still spent the most ($2.63 million), but FSU is no longer the ACC's top spender.

Clemson led the conference with $1.79 million spent on football recruiting, beating FSU by about $210,000. For the Tigers, this laid the groundwork for a 2020 recruiting class that could end up being the best class in college football history.

FSU's $1.58 million spent in 2018 was the seventh-most in the country.

In 2018, FSU spent over $420,000 more on football recruiting than UF. Miami's numbers were not included as the university is private.

Florida State vs. Boise State

When: Aug. 31, 7 p.m.

Where: TIAA Bank Field, Jacksonville