I was helping a kid with the recruiting process this past season and it is a brutal business. The 11.7 is a huge myth, some schools just don't have the funds to bring in the players needed. The coaches have to be very selective on who get an offer, how much of an offer and then throw a couple hail mary's. These kids have to have the grades to get academic money or it just won't work out. Some really good D1 players go the D2 route because they 'need' more and 'get' more from those schools. Or you get a kid that gets drafted in the late rounds and goes pro instead of college.
11.7 is not a myth, it's a maximum, and you are correct many schools are not fully funded in their allotment of that 11.7, or may have to privately fundraiser the difference in institutional help to hit the 11.7. Some do not want to realize this, but in Ohio, some kids can get more money for school by playing baseball at Marietta than they can some DI schools.