Don’t think so. I think it’s got less to do with professional status and more to do with student athlete welfare. For what it’s worth, even pros get time off. That said if you are a high major Division I athlete, you’re going to be working at your round.
Professional status? I’m thinking of preserving the idea that these kids are students before they are athletes, which is pretty tenuous these days, but is at least nominally the principle governing all of collegiate athletics. I agree with you that their welfare as athletes is a valid concern, since too much work might lead to unnecessary injuries. But their welfare as students is the prior concern, at least according to the NCAA.
Perhaps my reading of the situation seems provincial or even perverse. It comes from my three decades of experience as a college professor, some of which was spent at a D1 school in the UC system. What I have seen many times is that coaches will encroach on the kids’ class work wherever they can get away with it. I’ve always respected the fact that Geno does not do this, and even emphasizes the importance of classroom success.
