[Goose]

It feels like it's a race between NCAA haters to abolish amateurism and athletic departments to abolish any credible claim to the student part of student-athlete.

I believe the far more serious fact/problem is that many non-athletes attend the "University" the same way. I am aware that the athlete in question is a grad student, but that isn't germane IMHO. The "in the classroom" and even more so the "in the dorm" experience is becoming more and more uncommon at large public universities. It is entirely possible to graduate from many of them without actually attending a class on the main campus. There are both good things and bad things about this situation, but it seems to be becoming "normal".

[Goose]

It feels like it's a race between NCAA haters to abolish amateurism and athletic departments to abolish any credible claim to the student part of student-athlete.

I believe the far more serious fact/problem is that many non-athletes attend the "University" the same way. I am aware that the athlete in question is a grad student, but that isn't germane IMHO. The "in the classroom" and even more so the "in the dorm" experience is becoming more and more uncommon at large public universities. It is entirely possible to graduate from many of them without actually attending a class on the main campus. There are both good things and bad things about this situation, but it seems to be becoming "normal".