I've been reading some forums and doing some research. This topic has been touched on at various times, but not definitively. Quest one (1): if you choose to accept. Team A (higher prestige) and Team B are both in very respectable conferences. I don't know how the engine ranks them or weights them in recruiting, or whether that even matters. Both teams have similar histories, with coaches trying to build in tough conferences. Team A (prestige) has a slightly better track record than Team B. How can, or is it possible for Team B to out-effort Team A? Quest two (2): Team B is slightly closer to recruit in distance, so in theory should be cheaper to spend vs Team A (higher Prestige), but further away, say 180 -250 miles.

assuming they are even on bowl money -

quest 1 : yes it is possible, and very doable. prestige plays its biggest role against the sims. if two teams are close, they are almost identical in the effort department heads up against one another.

quest 2 : if team b is 180-250 miles closer, team b's campus visits will be marginally cheaper. at a 360 miles advantage i would say it gets considerably cheaper. outside of elites, if the prestige of each team is even close i wouldn't even worry about it. by the end of it, how the first 2 or 3 rounds went for each of you will be the biggest deciding factor. followed by either distance, or amount of scholarships. prestige will be near the bottom of the list of factors.

I’m at California and spent 93k on a recruit less that 180 to me and more that 250 to USC and he won easily. The prestige definitely holds an advantage, especially the elite prestige.

the prestige definitely holds an advantage, especially the elite prestige. on that we agree. we were talking about teams that are close in prestige. but, what i was saying applies here as well. an advantage in prestige, or being an elite, is helpful. yes usc being elite is a factor, but there are many factors ahead of that which are much more influential to these outcomes

less than 180 from you and more than 250 from him doesn't tell me enough to say, but it sounds like you didn't have a distance advantage or very little.

his elite advantage really comes into play when trying to knock off sims. recruits often avoid your visits and stuff right away, especially long distance and higher ranked recruits with power 5 sims on them. they are much more likely to take your stuff right away, and to knock sims off for the minimum at an elite. this is most of the "elite advantage." they have more money than you because they haven't had to mess about too much. whatever they have thrown out there at sim recruits usually gets taken right away.

bowl money, how many spots to fill, distance, success in the first 2 or 3 rounds. if you have an advantage in 2 of these areas, or a sizeable advantage in one of the first 3, that elite advantage matters little heads up against another human. if a guy is good, good enough for usc to be fighting for him, he will usually cost more than 93k. there are quite a few great recruiters out there who will take you for a lot more than that, not at elites.

The distances that matter are 180, 360, 1400. Why are we talking about 250??

Because it’s more than 180

Posted by head_coach_ on 9/16/2026 8:56:00 PM (view original):
I’m at California and spent 93k on a recruit less that 180 to me and more that 250 to USC and he won easily. The prestige definitely holds an advantage, especially the elite prestige.

You're not looking at it properly. You think "elite" is just a prestige difference. It isn't. The best owners I know consider an elite vs the very best non-elite school to be a 20% advantage. That's not prestige, that's just built into the game. Prestige only matters when you're talking non-elite vs non-elite

I left California in Stagg because of USC specifically.

There is no one else in California in stagg to battle USC. Therefore, USC was able to get literally anyone he wanted. If it was inside my 100 and inside his 360, I couldn't ever hope to compete with him. It's not a level playing field and it never will be no matter how good you get a non-elite school.

yes elite status and prestige could be separate. for all intents and purposes they could be treated as the same though. its not a level playing field period. whether we are talking about elites, how near or far people are, how much bowl money are we talking about, how many schollies do each need to fill. there is a long list of variables that make no playing field for a recruit even. how did the first 3 rounds go for each contestant? that is the biggest money waste phase for at least 4/5 gd users if i were a betting man.

no question cal is always going to struggle to fight usc. a few of the most important advantages you can get in recruiting battles can't be had by cal against usc. you aren't far enough away from usc to really claim your local area, and you share the same bowl money. i personally wouldn't do it, but im not your pappy either. elites start with an advantage before all things are considered. so you need a sizeable advantage in one area, or a couple advantages to beat them. but, the same could be said for ohio u fighting illinois. illinois starts with an advantage. but if the guy is in central ohio or panhandle wv or pittsburgh area, are you gonna back off illinois at ohio u? i wouldn't on prestige alone. if we are talking relatively equal schollies and bowl money the guy is mine. if illinois is rocking 140k bowl money, or even like 120k and 7 or 8 schollies, my answer changes still without considering prestige. thats why i maintain, if we are trying to decide what influences the outcomes, there are several factors in front of prestige/elite status. the bulk of the elite advantage comes from thrifty knocking off of sims.

Posted by papachooby on 9/18/2026 4:55:00 PM (view original):
yes elite status and prestige could be separate. for all intents and purposes they could be treated as the same though. its not a level playing field period. whether we are talking about elites, how near or far people are, how much bowl money are we talking about, how many schollies do each need to fill. there is a long list of variables that make no playing field for a recruit even. how did the first 3 rounds go for each contestant? that is the biggest money waste phase for at least 4/5 gd users if i were a betting man.

no question cal is always going to struggle to fight usc. a few of the most important advantages you can get in recruiting battles can't be had by cal against usc. you aren't far enough away from usc to really claim your local area, and you share the same bowl money. i personally wouldn't do it, but im not your pappy either. elites start with an advantage before all things are considered. so you need a sizeable advantage in one area, or a couple advantages to beat them. but, the same could be said for ohio u fighting illinois. illinois starts with an advantage. but if the guy is in central ohio or panhandle wv or pittsburgh area, are you gonna back off illinois at ohio u? i wouldn't on prestige alone. if we are talking relatively equal schollies and bowl money the guy is mine. if illinois is rocking 140k bowl money, or even like 120k and 7 or 8 schollies, my answer changes still without considering prestige. thats why i maintain, if we are trying to decide what influences the outcomes, there are several factors in front of prestige/elite status. the bulk of the elite advantage comes from thrifty knocking off of sims.

This is what I am pretty much leaning towards in summary, and thank you, everyone, for the great dialogue. A lot of perspectives, techniques, and strategies are involved here. The bigger question for me, at least, is: What is considered elite by GD standards? Take my Team Baylor in Warner: a very, very tough conference and competition for Texas rich recruits is a challenge. Constant battle with the established elites of Texas, OK, and neighbor LSU, Ala. I am not complaining one bit, and I actually enjoy the challenge. The question comes down to: how to become elite or achieve elite status? The playoffs are cutthroat, and scheduling has to be done with great consideration when not an elite. You schedule too soft, and you miss the cut; schedule too tough, and you miss the cut. You schedule just right and make the cut, and then become fodder for the top 10. Again, a lot of variables play out, and perception from recruits.

prestige is fluid. elite status is set in stone. you can build and lose prestige, but not elite status. frankum mentioned earlier they are separate things. they are functionally the same thing, but an elite can build and lose its prestige also. the elite status remains no matter what, however. even if an elite is a cellar dweller, which doesn't happen often or for very long before that corrects itself. their effort will still count for a little more than yours, and sims will still be more likely to flee at the sight of an elite. although, those advantages are diminished.

long ago i took over alabama in warner after the previous coach hadn't recruited for 5 years, and eventually let his seasons run out. i didn't see a fraction of the advantage i enjoyed at florida or nebraska in that world later. sim recruits ghosted me like i was at ohio u or houston. i don't recall winning any heads up fights, and that team's record wasn't even as bad as it could be. i got them heading in the right direction before being fired, because i was having to take some undecideds, and leftovers from other sec and big 12 teams. in order to fill i was taking some 1aa caliber guys. all that helped me beat the sims, except one year, but the people in that conference looked at me not only as a sure win on the field but also on the recruiting trail. even though i was at an elite.

frankum is right, elite status and prestige are different, and possibly even unrelated in how they function mechanically. the biggest difference being one is permanent and one is year to year. in practice they function similarly enough that i just kind of blend the two in my head. the elite status gives those teams a prestige floor higher than the other power 5 schools and considerably higher than the mid majors. it also gives them a ceiling that goes a little further up than that floor goes down. a lot of people will point to this fact as evidence the elite advantage is insurmountable, and it's the most important factor in recruiting. the facts are the facts, but i disagree with the assessment that elite status or prestige are the most important factor(s). in my opinion that is not only reductive, it's patently false.

You got fired? This was back in the day then. That is something that could be brought back.

i couldn't agree more with that. having a lifetime pass as long as you keep paying doesn't seem very football to me. i should have been fired, and was expecting it to come.

Posted by papachooby on 9/19/2026 11:48:00 AM (view original):
i couldn't agree more with that. having a lifetime pass as long as you keep paying doesn't seem very football to me. i should have been fired, and was expecting it to come.

I quoted the wrong reply. Sorry.

This is interesting. I haven’t thought of it how you are explaining, papachooby. I have a couple questions.

1) Can non-elite teams completely offset the elite advantage? Like one of Kensei teams, Illinois for example, would he have higher prestige than an elite?

2) Over what timeframe does this happen? 5 seasons? 20?

yes he could have higher prestige than an elite, but illinois still wont be an elite. i can't say for sure how long it takes but i think its determined by how much success the team has had recently. is it 2 years? is it 3-4 years? i can't say for sure. it could be 5, i dont think there is any way its more than that though.

can non-elite teams completely offset the elite advantage? yes but not with prestige. they need advantages in other areas.