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Quarterback Arch Manning is one of the most talked-about high school football recruits. Arch is the oldest son of Cooper and Ellen Manning and is a five-star recruit who attends and plays football at Isidore Newman School in New Orleans, Louisiana.
He had offers from some of the top Division-1 universities around the country. In July, Arch announced his decision to commit to the University of Texas.
He chose the Longhorns over the University of Georgia Bulldogs and the University of Alabama Crimson Tide, who were said to be among his top three choices.
The quarterback committed just days after an official visit to the Austin campus. The Athletic is now reporting that the university spent a significant amount of money to impress the nation's number two recruit and his family.
The University of Texas paid for airfare, rental cars, hotel rooms, lunch buffet, a dinner buffet which included an open bar for parents, and an ice scultputre. There was also a steak dinner, a trip to TopGolf and a lake cruise. The cost of the known expenses are listed below:
The two-day trip cost the University of Texas around $280,000. It was meant to convince the Manning family to allow Arch to play there beginning next season. It apparently worked. Just three days after the trip, Arch announced on his Twitter page that he was committed to Texas.
This apparently isn't the only time that the Longhorns have spent an astronomical amount of money on trying to lockdown a recruit. The weekend after he visited campus, the university spent over $300,000 on a recruitment visit.
There was no official word on who the recruit(s) was the following weekend, but Texas is clearly willing to fork over any amount of money to build a solid team for years to come.
Who is Cooper Manning?
Cooper Manning (Arch's father) is the oldest son of Archie and Olivia Manning. Like his son, he was a highly-regarded recruit coming out of high school, and committed to playing college football at Ole Miss.
During summer training camp ahead of his freshman season, Cooper was diagnosed with spinal stenosis that caused numbness in his fingers and toes. The diagnosis forced Cooper to retire from football immediately.
Although he didn't play in the National Football League like his two younger brothers and father, Cooper still made a name for himself. After college, he became a partner at Scotia Howard Weil, an energy investment company.
In 2016, he was hired as a senior managing director of investor relations at AJ Capital Partners.
In 2013, FOX Sports hired Cooper to work on the NFL Kickoff show every Sunday, which he still does every week. In 2021, he and Peyton Manning became co-hosts of the NBC Show, College Bowl. He and his brothers and father also star in television commercials for Caesars Sportsbook.
