[2006alum]

The term "student athlete" was invented by the NCAA to make exploiting athletes sound more palpable.

I'm curious, I wonder how many "student athletes" believe they were truly exploited.

FWIW, I really hope a top tier university exploits my daughter with a full ride scholarship.

It isn't just the scholarship, it's the admissions acceptance from schools ordinarily considered to difficult to gain admission.  When my son was in 8th grade, I contacted the following selective to highly selective universities, all of which had men's volleyball programs: Harvard, Stanford, Princeton, MIT, UC-Berkeley, UCLA, USC, UC-San Diego, NYU, UC-Santa Barbara, UC-Irvine, UC-Santa Cruz.  11 of the 12 coaches responded to my e-mails.  Athletics helps a student gain admission, which, for the 99.99% who won't make their living in athletics, is particularly important.  What parent wouldn't want their child to attend a school that is a standard deviation better than they might otherwise expect?

Indeed. It seems to me that this sixteen (and counting)-page thread on rich parents trying to transform their children into "student athletes" for admissions purposes is suggestive of the fact that being a student-athlete applicant is a privilege so valuable some were willing to pay millions of dollars to have it bestowed upon them...

[2006alum]

The term "student athlete" was invented by the NCAA to make exploiting athletes sound more palpable.

I'm curious, I wonder how many "student athletes" believe they were truly exploited.

FWIW, I really hope a top tier university exploits my daughter with a full ride scholarship.

It isn't just the scholarship, it's the admissions acceptance from schools ordinarily considered to difficult to gain admission.  When my son was in 8th grade, I contacted the following selective to highly selective universities, all of which had men's volleyball programs: Harvard, Stanford, Princeton, MIT, UC-Berkeley, UCLA, USC, UC-San Diego, NYU, UC-Santa Barbara, UC-Irvine, UC-Santa Cruz.  11 of the 12 coaches responded to my e-mails.  Athletics helps a student gain admission, which, for the 99.99% who won't make their living in athletics, is particularly important.  What parent wouldn't want their child to attend a school that is a standard deviation better than they might otherwise expect?

Indeed. It seems to me that this sixteen (and counting)-page thread on rich parents trying to transform their children into "student athletes" for admissions purposes is suggestive of the fact that being a student-athlete applicant is a privilege so valuable some were willing to pay millions of dollars to have it bestowed upon them...