No need to, just hold them to the terms of their scholarship agreement.
Thirtysomething guys, according to the group photo, on the team holding the whole school hostage? Expel their butts and let some guys play who want to play, even if they lose.
Watch, after the season's over there will be a mass exodus out of the MU football team, both of assistant coaches and athletes. I betcha the phone calls are being made even as we freep.
MU will lose more money in the long run, they saved a fast nickel and they're going to lose much more than a slow dime as the retention of coaches and players suffers, as will hiring and recruiting new talent. I would even say that I won't be surprised should the SEC reconsider their membership when everything comes to light.
Yes, to your point that in many cases money runs the athletic programs that run the universities. Whoever made this decision to coddle these guys will regret it in the long run.
You are right about the problem. If the athletes were paid, they might have something more valuable to take from them. That is one approach. Insurance might be another approach. Or, maybe schools could decide that they prefer to be an educational institution and deemphasize sports. I have a feeling other teams are noticing this case and we should probably expect more cases. Schools need to somehow become less dependent. They cannot turn this much power over to football teams.