Hi, I've been in and out of the game through the years, but I'm currently underway in my first season at D1A, coaching at Army. I'm looking for any insight as to how much of a disadvantage Sun Belt and other non-power conference schools are at in recruiting. Is it even possible to battle a Big East or SEC school? Are there more recruiting tiers than just power conference vs. non-power conference?

I believe it's possible to win battles against the Power 5 schools but if you both spend around the same amount of cash most of the time they will get the recruit. D1 Elites / D1 Almost Elite / Power 5 / All Other D1 schools

Thanks for the info! I'll look to put it to use in the next recruiting cycle.

It's almost impossible to beat an elite from a non-power 5 (especially if you're taking over a program with no recent success history). You may be able to do it after you build up your program with a few good seasons but it's still a long shot. I think you CAN beat a non-elite P5 if you have a significant scholarship advantage. Good luck.

1st season with no bowl money? Definitely not possible to win a real battle (30k+) vs. a BCS team or elite. In later seasons, you should really only battle BCS teams when you have a distance advantage on them so it's cheaper for you. I would literally never battle an elite at a non-BCS school, unless a player was <180 miles from me and >360 miles from the elite. Even then the $ spent will probably be about equal.

At a non-BCS your job is to get a few solid guys, and pickup the leftovers from the top teams. That alone will win you CCs in most non-BCS conferences. Then after you're established, you can maybe start battling, or switch to a BCS job (or sometimes even an elite) when a good job opens.

Posted by jayhawkgrant on 8/29/2017 2:38:00 PM (view original):
I believe it's possible to win battles against the Power 5 schools but if you both spend around the same amount of cash most of the time they will get the recruit. D1 Elites / D1 Almost Elite / Power 5 / All Other D1 schools

I've seen the list of Elite schools, but which ones are considered "almost elite?"

Posted by slayterhill on 9/2/2017 1:02:00 PM (view original):

Posted by jayhawkgrant on 8/29/2017 2:38:00 PM (view original):
I believe it's possible to win battles against the Power 5 schools but if you both spend around the same amount of cash most of the time they will get the recruit. D1 Elites / D1 Almost Elite / Power 5 / All Other D1 schools

I've seen the list of Elite schools, but which ones are considered "almost elite?"

Rutgers and BC are almost elites. mainly because of location. you can also add in Temple and Uconn to that list.