Honestly, if I were making the decision today as a top high school recruit, I do think NAU would be my first choice. The laid-back, outdoorsy atmosphere of Flagstaff, the team culture, and being coached by Mike Smith all sound like an awesome college experience to me.
It's worth mentioning that, while I enjoyed taking classes in a wide variety of departments during undergrad, the education field has always been the place I saw myself working professionally. Not only is that a field where connections and prestige matter less, but NAU actually does have pretty strong education/teaching offerings. If I wanted to get a masters at one of the elite education grad schools (Columbia, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, etc.), I could do that after enjoying my formative college years at NAU.
That said, I did enjoy the classes, size, and opportunities at my Ivy, so if NAU wouldn't take me, I'd probably look there next. FWIW, I was not a recruited athlete and my family received significant need-based aid.