Florida, Alabama, LSU, and Texas have all hoisted the BCS national championship trophy in the last five years, but there’s something the Iowa football program does more of than any of these teams.

Spend money.

Kirk Ferentz’s squad spent $26.9 million during the 2008-09 school year, ranking as the third-highest total in the country, according to statistics from the U.S. Department of Education’s Equity in Athletics.

The spending trails only Ohio State ($32.30 million) and Auburn ($28.8 million).

Other teams the Hawkeyes outspent included Notre Dame, USC, and Miami (Fla.).

Three Big Ten teams rank in the top 10 in spending — Wisconsin ($22.71 million, eighth) — while the Big Ten and SEC were the only two BCS conferences that had at least three football programs that spent at least $20 million.