My point wasn't necessarily to question their motives, but to point out that this would be a better argument from, say, the SEC. The truth is that perceptions matter. Ivy League schools are at a huge disadvantage in the current climate. They can't really know who they can honestly recruit that early and can't offer athletic money, so they operate at a disadvantage to schools like Stanford, Vanderbilt, and Duke - schools that are fishing in the same pond. Not that their position is meant to be self-serving, but certainly couldn't be seen as altruistic.