Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer, January 24, 2012

Recruiting is the lifeblood of programs, which is why schools spend thousands of dollars in the pursuit of talent. The BusinessofCollegeSports.com recently listed total recruiting expenses for men?s and women?s sports from 2010-11.

The recruiting budget data is based on information that schools provide to the U.S. Department of Education. "Although this data is not perfect, it is the only data available for both public and private institutions," the website says.

Here?s where Big Ten schools rank (with their overall rank):
1. Michigan (9th overall)
2. Illinois (14)
3. Nebraska (19)
4. Ohio State (23)
5. Minnesota (24)
6. Penn State (26)
7. Purdue (41)
8. Michigan State (42)
9. Iowa (43)
10. Indiana (46)
11. Wisconsin (58)
12. Northwestern (60)

See the whole list at BusinessofCollegeSports.com.

Tom Dienhart is a senior writer for BTN.com. Find all of his work at www.btn.com/tomdienhart, follow Dienhart on Twitter at @BTNTomDienhart, send a question to his weekly mailbag here, and click here to subscribe to his RSS feed.