the kid chooses the school.

You keep saying “prove the uniforms are free.” That’s a straw man. The real question is “do the uniforms make a difference?” The burden is on you, as all the evidence shows that alternate uniforms matter. Again, almost every single school has alternate uniforms. Why would they do this if it doesn’t matter?

Here’s what’s really going on. You don’t like alternate uniforms, so you’re throwing a fit about cost. But it’s just because of your own personal preference. Recruits love them. The team loves them. It clearly matters, because everyone is doing it. But you still whine about the cost (even though you don’t have any idea what the cost actually is) simply because you don’t like them.