I understood that, and agree…increased costs are one of the downsides of student-athletes being employees. I expect even today that many schools find ways to reimburse athletes for OOP costs associated with any sports related injury.
I encourage you to read the various NCAA reports and other reports regarding how much time these students spend on their sport. The 20 hours includes only athletic activities that are required and organized by the coaches…not travel, not watching film, not captains practices, not unsupervised weight training, etc. From the most recent NCAA Goals study:
My S played D3 baseball, and the time commitment was 30-40 hours per week all school year.
This is too much conjecture for me…have you heard anything about D thinking about moving to D3? It just doesn’t make sense.
All colleges at all levels and in all divisions are concerned about athlete unionization.