I totally agree with your second point as well and that group no doubt makes up a large population at MC, but in terms of having to recruit vs not, I think the pipeline of "North suburban Catholic families" is more robust than "Chicago families proximate to MC that can and will make a tuition sacrifice", just IMO
If by recruit you mean market themselves, all Catholic schools must do that. Also, there are substantial percentages of non-Catholic students at both LA and MC. Lastly, Loyola's market extends beyond north suburban families. Catholic or otherwise.
You would know better than I would the overlap in draw between LA and Viator/DePaul. My overarching point is about having to get kids to make an "inconvenient" decision, and I would guess there aren't many kids that live closer to LA that willingly choose Viator (unless they feel they won't be good enough to play at LA), but I could be wrong.
You are probably correct on that. What you are talking about is that 12 mile space between both schools. Are there kids 5-6 miles west of LA who go to Viator? Probably, but not many. Are there those who live 5-6 miles east of Viator who go to LA? Probably, but not many. Where LA and Viator really compete for kids is in areas like Park Ridge and the northwest side of the city (along the UP Northwest LIne) and then again up north and northeast of Arlington Heights in suburbs like Wheeling and Buffalo Grove.
I imagine DePaul vs LA is a decision a vector of northside Chicago kids make. I doubt there are many kids North of Touhy going to DePaul.
Funny you should say that. After the recent Catholic high school placement test, I heard about kids from St. Francis Xavier School in Wilmette (Loyola's hometown) who tested at DePaul.
Naming the schools in a vacuum misses the point. Based on your own description of LA's attendance base, I highly doubt kids from Joliet or the towns around Montini and Benet are commuting to LA.
Correct, but that isn't the point. Take a school like Fenwick in Oak Park that is 14 miles from LA. It's not about kids from Oak Park commuting to Loyola or kids from Wilmette commuting to Fenwick. It's about where both schools' 14-mile radii intersect roughly half-way in areas like Jefferson Park, Norwood Park, Edison Park, Norridge, Harwood Hts, etc., and kids from those areas commuting to both schools. If you want to cut that 28-mile radius in half to 14 miles, there are still 10-12 or so Catholic high schools with whom LA competes for some of the same kids...in addition to the excellent public high schools near Loyola.
That's a good thing - LA doesn't need them to! They turn 30% away each year and still have an 8A enrollment!
I don't know how many LA turns away anymore. They have always been pretty tight lipped about how many kids test, get accepted, etc. Also, they don't have actual 8A enrollment. It's solidly 7A at 1,986. The only way they get into 8A is through petitioning up or being success factored or multiplied.
I've never seen an LA roster with gradeschools (like alot of city CCL schools do) so feel free to correct me if there are actually kids making those crazy long journeys.
Probably not from places like Lisle or Wheaton, but I am definitely aware of southside kids who have taken public transportation to Loyola in the past.
On the flip side MC's captain and star Linebacker is from New Lenox where PC is located. They have kids on the roster from Portage and Crown Point and Bellwood and Matteson and Wicker Park and everywhere in between. I think they are one of the only schools in the state that actually uses the full radius.
True. I have seen MC yard signs on the northside in neighborhoods like Wicker Park, Ukranian Village, Ravenswood, etc. So, even there, you have MC's recruiting reach intersecting with Loyola's.
I'm not really sure what you are arguing here: both LA and MC are successful, one head coach said they don't do any recruiting, and the other said they do lots of recruiting. Someone asked which is "more common", and I'm giving my take on why it dependsbased on demographics and geography - they necessitate that MC pull from a wider area. That's not a knock on LA, if anything it is a compliment.
Actually, one head coach said HE never did any recruiting. That doesn't mean that other LA reps can't be found at youth football games.
If you think Holcek was BSing and LA actually does recruit a lot, or you have a different take than your prior insight to where LA gets it's kids from, I'm all ears. Again I'm confused with what you are arguing against.
I don't think that Holecek was BSing. No reason for him to BS or stretch the truth in this matter. Again, all Catholic schools recruit. If by recruit in this context you mean intentionally market to athletes, I'm sure LA does that to some extent. Do they sit across the dining room table from an 8th grade football player and flash their state championship rings? I hope not.
I wasn't really arguing as much as I was trying to add to your narrative. I felt like it was one sided in the sense that that MC has to go far and wide. Lots of schools have to go far and wide. Loyola is one of them. Do they go AS far and wide as MC? Probably not in general, but there are always outliers. I also felt that it didn't take into account the state of the local public school markets in which both schools compete.
These are totally valid points and an interesting "other side of the coin". When I said "comparable product", I meant a coed Catholic education. Loyola is smack dab in the middle of a large population of people with means to pay for that if it's what they want. Most of the people with obvious means to pay for a Catholic education on the southside live closer to another option than MC.
I would agree, but want to make clear that not everyone with means wants a Loyola education.