This is professional sports. When college athletics wasn't so big, the student / athlete could be a student. Now, with all of the travel, they are expected to have the same schedule as professional athletes... plus adding a college-level workload.
For transparency -- I was an advocate for not paying the players. They were getting a free education, training table, tutors, better housing, and more. Now, the university is expecting more from them preventing them from being an actual student.
I am concerned for the athletes in the "non-revenue" sports. I had classes with a wrestler back in the day who was a National Champion. He was an engineering major and was able to get his assignments done on time, but shared it was very very tough. That was in the early 90's. My brother got a scholarship to wrestle at a Big 10 school, and was surprised at how they encouraged him to not take tough courses so he could focus on wrestling. He left and ended up getting a degree and a masters degree.
The universities can complain about how much attention is paid to sports, but they are reaping the benefits with extra money for academic endeavors.
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