it could also be a product of politics
From what I am hearing it is politics. Supposedly the powers that be want to avoid parents of juniors and seniors calling and complaining that older girls are sitting when freshmen are playing.
This has been a lesson, that the world it often not a meritocracy, and that politics is an unfortunate part of life. That is a lesson I did not learn until college. I guess it is better to learn it when one is a freshmen.