How do you know I liked it? I hated it. But it was the only avenue to afford me a better life.
I think that's the point, if it hadn't been for sports you likely wouldn't have gone to college and gotten a degree, is that correct? The son of one of my managers went to college strictly because he wanted to play football. He redshirted his first year and played 3 years at a small school, but he got his degree, which he would not have gotten had it not been for football. He graduated with one year of eligibilty left and walked away a happy guy.
I don't have an issue with football players getting paid, back in the 80's when I was in school it was a very common practice, lot's of poor kids with new Trans Ams from working part time jobs.
The biggest issue that cannot be overcome is Title IX, how can you pay women's soccer players when the soccer program is depending on the football program to pay it's expenses and scholarships now? How much does the tennis team make per player vs starting the starting QB or the freshman swimmer on the relay team??
The big schools like UGA/Alabama/Michigan can afford to pay football players, but what about the smaller schools? Would they all get paid the same or would the number 1 QB prospect get more at Alabama than at Auburn?
The focus is football, but the real issue is college athletics in general.
My youngest son is a freshman at Georgia, he's on the HOPE scholarship, it pays most of his tuition based on his grade point average. It still costs me $8-10K per semester for dorm, meal plan, books, parking, the remainder of his tuition etc. So a free education isn't a bad deal. I agree that college athletics is like a full time job, but it's also a full time job that prepares someone for a good career with a college degree without student loan costs.