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Report: Michigan recruiting trips cost over $130K in late January 2015

Recruits may consider talk from coaches during the recruiting process to be cheap at times, but University of Michigan records show that the practice of recruiting certainly isn't.

According to records obtained by USA Today, Michigan spent approximately $136,000 for head coach Jim Harbaugh and his assistants to recruit in late January 2015. It was Harbaugh's first month as the Wolverines' coach after he parted ways with the San Francisco 49ers.

Traveling alone or being accompanied by as many as three assistants at a time, Harbaugh racked up 18 jet-travel legs from Jan. 19 through Jan. 30. There were another five “dead” legs involving no passengers, and an assistant coach had one solo travel leg. There was only day during that period for which no private-jet trips were logged.

Altogether, the total value came to nearly $136,000.

No, other FBS coaches aren't flying commercial to go see recruits, either. While Harbaugh's expenses may seem extreme, don't believe for a second that he's not the only coach racking up time on chartered jets.

USA Today notes Michigan spent $584,721 on football recruiting in the 2013-14 fiscal year. That was Brady Hoke's final recruiting offseason as Michigan coach. In the 2014-15 fiscal year, Michigan spent $739,337 on recruiting.

It's certainly a lot of money to someone like you or me. But the $136,000 isn't much when you look at Michigan's athletic budget. The Wolverines had nearly $158 million in athletic department revenue in 2013-14 and over $142 million in expenses.

For more Michigan news, visit TheWolverine.com.

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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!