I don’t understand this. Most football players at D1 schools ARE scholarship athletes. A Big Ten football team has 105 players and 85 of them are on scholarship. The others pay their own way and if they aren’t going to classes, they are wasting their own money. Are you saying they aren’t ‘really’ students? The graduation rate for Gophers is 90%.
“University of Minnesota student-athletes have again posted an impressive Graduation Success Rate (GSR), the latest in a trend of impressive academic and graduation numbers for Gopher student-athletes. This year’s GSR of 90 percent is two percentage points higher than last year…”
College sports is big business, but not for the students. They get a scholarship, they now get a stipend, and hopefully they’ll get a diploma. If they choose not to graduate, it is not the fault of the university.