The problem with the UVA, UNC, Hopkins oh they are great schools why wouldn't you go is that most, not all of the guy going there are not in that sphere of students. I know a guy who wound up being the team captain at UVA who had a 980 on the SAT and that wasn't too long ago.
Yes there are smart guys that go to those school who excel in the classroom and the lacrosse field. Maybe I have a poor sample, but I know a lot of ACC guys who went there for the lacrosse and haven't done a thing with the good degree.
I know that is anecdotal, but when I hear the UNC and UVA argument I generally have to call B.S. because at least the ones I have met and it is more than just a few were there only for the lacrosse.
The point made in the opening paragraph is very insightful. Athletes do tend to attend a university in their athletic sphere which does not overlap in many cases with the regular student body. This indeed might impact their ability to leverage the alumni network after graduation and might also impact their peer network in the future.
That said, also remember that the athletic community at top university programs can be an extremely tight knit family. University gifting from athletics alumni can represent 30% and more of the annual gifting budget.
