Men’s rowing is not an NCAA sport (it was around long before the NCAA and chose not to join), and I believe the same is true for squash, as well as sailing and some other sports that are varsity at some schools, but outside the NCAA. So I think that’s why those are not included.
I agree that in many cases, athletes can find a college team to play on. I think what’s harder is either getting into a better school than they otherwise could because of sports, or getting scholarship money. To me those are where sports are really beneficial in terms of opportunities in a broader sense.
On the other hand, I see some athletes going to worse colleges than they otherwise could, just to play sports . . . not a great outcome IMO.