For many (most?) college football and basketball players, their participation has little or nothing to do with education - just look at the numbers in the portal each year - their top concerns are money and playing time, not calculus and English lit.
The institutions are at fault for fostering this hypocrisy - they don’t have teams to provide kids an alternate opportunity for an education - they’re in it for the money and publicity.
So far as I’m concerned the solution is to clarify those priorities. Universities should choose between two options:
1A: The athletes are paid, can sign contracts, can be free agents, don’t have to take classes (but they can if they qualify for admission), don’t have to qualify for admission - these universities essentially just sponsor minor league teams that publicize the name of the school, though again they can provide classes for any kids who actually give a rip.
1AA: Pre-NIL/portal rules for athletes - these kids must qualify for admission, must attend classes and make grades, and if they enroll at this level they surrender any claims to the financial rewards the schools get. Their reward for playing ball is a free education (at many schools, worth a minimum of a quarter million bucks), along with free room and board and a reasonable monthly stipend for incidentals.
Probably not a perfect solution, but a hell of a lot less hypocritical.
So many look for “solutions”…there is no problem to “fix”.