Did non-athletes actually attend the classes?
These no-show, no-work classes were intended for athletes only but word got out to the general student population and some of them signed up. I doubt there were any classes to attend. They probably had to write their own paper (the only actual work in these classes) since the team's secretary only wrote them for athletes but otherwise the courses were the same for all students.
I believe the classes only have to be offered, not necessarily taken.