Personally I think the major colleges need to spin off their athletics as minor-league pro teams that just carry the university's brand, but each athlete gets a 4-year scholarship as part of their compensation, and they can redeem it at any point in the next 15 years or so. Athletes who get hurt or don't cut it in the pros still have the opportunity to get an education, and athletes who don't value an education don't have to pretend to get one.
I'm fully on board with this.
One of the main problems with this argument though is how do you define which sports get the semi pro full scholarship status.
Everyone of Kentucky's basketball players should get a full scholarship because of how much value they bring to the school. Kentucky's Division 1 Field Hockey Team? Girl's Soccer? Kentucky Baseball? None of these have the kind of draw that would justify giving the full roster 4 year scholarships.
NCAA though is never going to say though that Basketball Players are more valuable student athletes than any of the other NCAA programs even if it it's true from a strictly financial perspective.
yes, and this brings up a key point in college athletics. generally, only a few men's sports can generate enough revenue to be self-supporting. in addition, most of the funding for most of college sports and sport scholarships come from men's basketball and football. women's curling just aint gonna pay the bills.
if the big revenue sports stop being big revenue sports, then many of the other sports would dry up as universities made budget cuts.
in that sense, these sports are funding opportunities for thousands of other athletes who really are scholar-athletes.
another point, the thread tends to focus heavily upon the big name schools. other schools may be smaller, less well known, have lesser sports programs (NCAA II, III, etc.) the discussion on "minor leagues" and such mean far less to these schools. and most schools fit this last category.
college athletics (writ large) is a complicated ball of wax and most sports fans dont see the majority of college sports, only the big name schools.