I doubt that the extra 20 or so freshman football scholarships given annually is causing ND to turn students away. At this point in time, Notre Dame controls exactly how many kids they take annually. I would doubt that Notre Dame is at a tipping point in terms of admissions and that every athlete admitted is costing them actual dollars. Now, that doesn't change the fact that this scholarship is extremely valuable to the recipient.

Furthermore, a point might be made that scholarships invested 60-80-100 years ago (and continuing on, obviously) helped increase the overall popularity of the school and played a major role in increasing attendance and admissions. There is no question that it was a wise investment in terms of increasing the status of the school.