1. Some of you appear to be saying that there are special classes for college athletes that are easier than "normal" classes. This can't be true, surely! I know some classes must be easier than others, but the easy classes must be open to everyone who wants them, right?
Yes, these classes are open to everyone. There are classes that are inherintly easier than others. You can't take a course load of only these classes and get a degree, of course. And anyone can take those classes. What people forget is that in sports, you are learning how to run a sports program. It is like its own class, but no credits.
2. Are there no independent auditors who can catch athletes being passed in classes even though they are not of the required academic standard? Most of my university papers were assessed by a three hour anonymous (candidate-number identification only) examination at the end of the year and the few that were assessed by extended essay were also extensively anonymised. A tutor wouldn't know who to fake-pass even if they wanted to! Do athletics coaches really think that tutors will pass people who are obviously not of the required standard?
Yes there are. And that is why UNC was caught cheating. The sporting organizations are actually very good at catching these things, because no school wants any of the others to get an unfair advantage. So schools are quick to call each other out in an unofficial setting, thus leading to investigations if one wasn't already in place.
Coaches can try to put pressures on teachers the same way a rich donor can try to put pressure on professors. They technically have no power. It is up to the professor to report them if it happens (like any other crime - if you are the only witness you should make sure it is reported). In the US, typically TAs grade your papers. All students can compare their results, so if one is being unfairly graded it can be easily pointed out.
Honestly, the thing I typically see is that professors are harder on student athletes. A lot of extra classwork can be assigned for missing classes for travel.
And here, tutors can only help you learn the material. Tutors do not have official positions where they can touch grades. That is typically a TA (Teacher's Assistant).
3. Why is college regarded as the appropriate environment for advanced athletic training? I graduated from an Oxbridge college a few years ago, and our elite athletes are called "Blues". The best Blues in rowing compete in the Boat Race every year (held last weekend). They are all accused of not being "real" students (see also: University Challenge!). While I would love to see it being limited to domestic undergraduates, one cannot deny that they are all pursuing real academic courses and rowing is really just an elaborate hobby. Anyone wanting to pursue Olympic-level sport in Britain wouldn't think that going to university was the best place to fulfil their ambitions!
College athletics was around way before professional athletics were considered "professional." The more upscale sports were like a gentleman's hobby to show yourself publically while you could study. Other sports were simply a way to be active and get some recognition before school was over. They didn't have internet. No one knew your name unless you did something. Therefore, it was a bit harder to get noticed unless you did something special.
Publishing research papers, being a star sports player, being a famous musician ... all of these are ways to get noticed during school.
Professional football became a thing after college football was already big. So, college football is the default.
4. Who wins here? The players seem to get dud degrees they don't want which limits both their academic career (too much sport) and their sporting career (too much studying). The university has to carry the load of a group of people on full scholarships who are not pulling their weight academically. The coach has to sacrifice training time to classes and obviously has a less-than-optimal daily schedule including eating and games. What is the point of this system?
The winners are the players that are on the border line between too poor to pay for school and too stabilized to "need" financial assistance according to the government. Most student athletes do not go pro in sports.
Coach Pat Summit is a good example of how it should work. She used to be coach of the Tennessee Lady Volunteers Basketball team. she held her students to very high standards. Her standards were much higher than the school's. Even if the rules said a player could play, a C meant on the bench. She coached women that later became Olympic stars and leaders in the community. She took girls and made them strong women. Which is one of the many reasons why she has been so well honored throughout her coaching history.
That is what the system should be doing.
5. If an athlete did quit the team and lost their athletic scholarship, wouldn't they then be eligible for student loans like a normal person so they could still carry on their degree?
If they qualify. You have a much smaller time window to find your funding (a month or two instead of your whole senior year). And now they have the added pressure of every other student knowing you quit the team. TV shows mocking you, making you the joke of the day. Societal pressure sucks.
6. Do all the other students hate the athletes, or does anyone else actually care about their university's sporting prowess?
Most athletes I have met are normal people. They just happen to play sports.
It gives you a great story to pick up girls. But that is about it. You have to watch yourself at all times, because you are representing the team. If someone gets a picture of you doing something stupid, the world is going to know you did something stupid. College kids get in trouble all the time. Only makes sense that some of them are going to be sports players. No excuses for them, they desrerve to be punished for any wrong doings. But to say all sports players are school-lazy, cheaters, and muscle-heads is like saying all artists spend their whole day in a coffee bar, smoking weed, and posting nonsense on facebook. Generalizations are silly.
You just see people online that didn't like that one football bully in highschool and take their anger out on all other athletes.