"the fact of the matter is that student-athletes, particularly in the Ivy League, are very successful once on campus. "
Based on my observations, I’d agree with @TiggerDad . For one, these tend to be disciplined and competitive types. They have the grades and the stats to be considered: you’re NOT going to see C-average high school students on Princeton teams. Plus, in contrast to many universities, the Ivies tend to put school first, sport second, thus giving athletes a very good shot at being able to excel academically. A family member played a popular Ivy team sport about a decade ago. I kept track of her team members: today that team has 1 doctor, three attorneys, a PhD and some successful Wall Street-ers. The kids continued to be successful even beyond undergrad.