While all of your various comments highlighting the issues surrounding big time college athletics are valid, there are some angles to this that are consistently overlooked. The fact these issues exist is, of course, part of the problem, but never-the-less:
- very few - and I mean very few - college athletes are candidates for pro leagues. And realistically, not very many pro leagues provide much of an income either. Just think about the numbers
- for the athletes in general, in schools that take athletics and athletic commitment by their athletes seriously, it is like having a full time job in addition to going to school (and most student athletes across the board "are" students, based on sheer numbers).
- but athletes are prevented by this time fact and "the rules" from having income to offset things like books, misc. living expenses, etc.
So, in the end, I don't have a problem with a cost of attending school stipend. I agree it is unfair, and am not in the least oblivious to negatives surrounding it, but I do get it.