would never have to pay athletes and save money. Amateurism was marketed as some noble thing just to save money for schools. Walter Byers wrote about all of this in his book.

And student is not always first in the student athlete. Athlete is absolutely first (at least to the NCAA and individual schools it is), because the athlete part of the student athlete is what makes the school money. It's about revenue. That is why we have gone from 8-9 college football games to 12-15, that is why there are important games when "students" have midterms and finals (why did all the P5 conferences create championship games during or near finals for their "students"?), that is why "impermissible" benefits scandals lead to heavy sanctions (the cartel to not pay wages must be enforced) and academic scandals( See Unc) receive almost no punishment. It is all a business. This is professional sports, schools have just successfully colluded to cap compensation of their athletes at scholarship plus stipend so they can capture more of the profit.

That said, the demands made by these students from a business perspective are ridiculous.