Ok, I'll give it a shot, Francis. Maybe it has to do with $, but proximity does come into play. And I think you'll see that with state schools more so than I think the private schools. I know "Big State U" where I live always tries to recruit the best players in the state. They are familiar with the players (easy to scout) and may think that there would be local (alumni) interest in following the top players. Sure they want to win too.
Schools in the Ivy League (Smaller roster) tend to recruit nationally. Despite its location on the west coast, it seems that Harvard Westlake (CA) has their top athletes land in Ivy league (despite its geographic distance) in baseball and other sports. From a parent's point of view, maybe we hope our kids go to the best possible school that has a small distance so we (as parents) can catch an occasional game. 