I think some are misreading this data. 60% listed varsity athletics as a high school extracurricular. A very small percentage of high school athletes play varsity in college as they aren’t good enough. It’s a big leap to college caliber.
Chicago does recruit as most other top D3’s do. It involves the student reaching out to this colleges to start the process.
My son was an athletic recruit but he also scored a 1570 on his SAT. He does it because he loves it. Someone mentioned parents pushing their kids strategically into sports. Frankly that is highly doubtful to be successful. The level of motivation required needs to be internal.