I don't know man....maybe because the schools that you think are so "uber elite" and "good" are, in actuality, not really that much better than schools like NC State and Alabama that you demean as "inferior". The reality is that you can get basically an equal education at all of these schools. More important to their future career prospects than the supposed "prestige" of the school is the degree/major they select, and how hard they work in school (no matter where they go).
And for elite runners a lot more goes into the decision besides the major and academics. You know, like picking a school with good coaching to help them succeed in their athletic goals, and also a program that has a good team culture. If you actually go and listen to the interviews of the athletes in NC State's womens distance program, virtually all of them say that they chose to go to NC State because of the coaches and team culture.