I hope there aren't many people running around thinking a small private school is " sorting applicants " for the sake of remaining small and thereby gaining a competitive edge in sports.
The reality is that running a school of any kind is a business matter. Survival is a matter of profitability. Revenue has to be generated that exceeds cost or a school will not last long ( especially a small private school ). It takes the same amount of money to light, heat, clean, maintain, insure, etc., plus pay someone to teach in that classroom. It doesn't matter if that room has 12 kids in it, or 25 kids in it, those cost are the same. Since no prize money is being paid out to schools winning championships, gross revenue trumps being competitive in sports by a LONG SHOT. The only way to offset lost revenue due to decreasing enrollment is to raise tuition on the families who have kids that remain in the school.
There is no private school that has capacity and facilities available to increase enrollment that is turning kids away to remain in a lower sports classification just so they can compete. That's just nonsensical rhetoric. Many schools in small town Iowa are fighting for survival, and it's because of shrinking enrollment. So does recruiting go on, yes, absolutely. Does having solid athletic programs help recruiting, absolutely. Does being a private school guarantee success in sports, take a look at the football at Columbus Catholic right now, they are obviously in a down cycle. Columbus has every opportunity to pull in some of the same kids that may choose to go to Bosco.
If anyone seriously thinks kids are being turned away so Bosco can remain in 8 man football, you are not even considering the number of kids who won't come to Bosco because they do play 8 man vs 11 man.
Congrats to both teams yesterday, it was a great game !