Being "all distance" isn't also killing track and field?
If you aren't fully funding track now, then adding cross country scholarships doesn't change the situation.
But a fully funded cross country program is now more possible since 5/6 is doable where as 12.6/18 is less doable.
If distance is all you care about, then just be a cross country school and don't worry about the sport of track and field. Or at least don't pretend to care about the full sport of track and field when all you really want is the additional scholarship spending for the cross country season.
If you care about both cross country and track and field, then fund both.
The point is that cross country results should be determined by cross country scholarships.
Track and field results should be determined by track and field scholarships.