if I was a university administrator and the Athletic department pulled what they pulled. I would call a meeting of the College bored and try and convince them that this has to be faced head on even if it means canceling football for the next couple years. then if I had the bored of directors on my side I would inform all the scholarship players that if they did not show up they would loose there scholarships and any player not showing up for games and practice will be cut permanently no exceptions. I would then have a meeting with the staff and inform the athletic department that if any statement is made to the Media by some one claiming to speak for more then themselves or they will be fired.
Because of a deal with the team they are supposed to play next, they would have had to pay $1,000,000 to the opposing college to forfeit the game.
Bur that a pretty boring way of going about it.
I suspect that Obama's Justice Dept was on the phone to the board, telling them that if they fired the athletes, that the following day a DOJ civil rights investigation team would show up and put them all under a microscope.