Iowa spent $26.9 million on football in the 2008-2009 school year, but just $18.46 million in 2009-2010?

I have no explanation. I'm just giving you the raw numbers from the U.S. Department of Education's Equity in Athletics. Which sounds like a misnomer to me.

According to the Department of EE in A, as reported here and here by Fanhouse.com, the University of Iowa spent $26.9 million on its football program in the 2008-2009 school year, which was the third-most of anyone in the NCAA, behind only Ohio State and Auburn.

But in 2009-2010, for reasons that I'd love to have someone detail, Iowa's football spending in the 2009-2010 school year was "just" $18.46 million, 18th-most in the nation. Did the Hawkeyes start recruiting only by telephone? Did the team travel by bus instead of jet to Penn State last year? Did the team's training table consist solely of rice and beans?

Ohio State, by the way, remained No. 1 on the spending list, even though it needs only to recruit by car in Ohio and still have a roster full of high school superstars.