but I think you could potentially avoid the "athlete becomes an employee" feel by just paying a stipend per semester to help cover the true cost of school. I played college water polo at BYU-Hawaii before I transferred to BYU and even with two scholarships (academic and athletic) there are incidental costs that come up outside of what scholarships cover (I never lived lavishly). Because I worked out 7 hours per day in the extreme days (in addition to game time, travel to games, etc.) and 3-4 hours on the easiest days, holding down a job was out of the question. In any case, you don't have the energy to do so when you work out like that. Once I stopped playing and I no longer had this 20-30 hour per week job playing my sport, I was able to hold down 20-30 hour per week jobs while going to school and even getting a masters at BYU. This isn't to say that I wasn't sincerely grateful to play a sport, get a scholarship, and have all the privileges that come from that and representing your school and church. I'm just saying a small, controlled stipend would just be helping to cover the true costs and incidentals.

If it hasn't changed since I graduated in '08, BYU offers gimme jobs to students with financial needs all the time (I can't remember the name of the program) where they sit at desks, information booths, etc. (all while studying and doing homework some of the time, mind you). What's the difference between throwing a bone to a student with a financial need by giving them one of the these jobs vs. giving an athlete a small stipend? If you factor in the amount the NCAA pays its execs (Mark Emmert makes $1.7 M per year) to run this amateur/non-for-profit system and the amount coaches, ADs, and commissioners are paid, the total cost of a small stipend to players really is just a drop in the bucket.