Good observation! In addition to the variable of how many athletes & what % they are of the entire student body, is the question of “how low will they go”…each school must decide for themselves (outside of the Ivies who have a formula in place, although that can be “gamed”, i.e. Harvard basketball) how far below the typical student they will go in admitting athletes. Many times when great academic schools get significantly better in a major sport my hunch is that the present coach there is getting kids in that his predecessor could not. Some high level academic schools have hurt their national reputations a bit by doing this, Berkley & Georgetown come to mind.