I too was on academic scholarship at Bama. I received tuition, book, fees, and a room and board allowance in the form of a combination of a stipend and a meal card. The biggest difference though between that scholarship and the ones they are giving athletes now however is that I could also have a job. I was a tutor for the on campus tutoring program and could earn extra money there. The vast majority of scholarship athletes simply do not have time to work and many are not allowed to do so during the school year. They should be paid for that opportunity cost in the form of a full cost scholarship and it should not be optional.
I think a lot of people are not seeing the full picture. I've seen a lot of, "when I was a student" type of stuff, but it is apples to oranges.
To be on football scholarship, the athlete has to both meet academic requirements, and the requirements of being a football player. Some people seem to be oblivious to that. The retort I'd make to some, is that when they were going to college, they didn't have to participate in football practice, and watch film, and all of those other things. The idea of well, when I did something that a significant percentage of the population can do, I didn't get treated like I did something only a tiny percentage of the population can do, sounds out of touch. Mind you, I'm not speaking for everyone, or belittling anyone, because I'm sure there are many people here who kept their grades up while working through college, etc... I'm just saying I don't think it is easy to imagine what it's like to be a FBS student athlete, which is quite difficult (as the high rate of attrition attests to that).
So, we take these student athletes and we place on them the burdens of a student, and on top of that the burdens of a high level athlete in a rigorous sport. That alone mean we can't try to compare what some kid who doesn't have to do any of that's college experience is like.
Then, on top of that, as you pointed out, the student athletes have these other rigors placed upon them. For instance, they can't get scholarships for other reasons, they can't get grad student stipends from what I understand, they are extremely limited in terms of their activities. I mean, imagine any of you, as a student, not being able to go to a BBQ because that's an improper benefit. Not being able to hop on a golf cart because that's an improper benefit. These are actual infractions I'm talking about. The player has extremely limited options in terms of what they can do, and these are burdens placed upon them specifically because they are student athletes.
ColumbusTide nailed it, in that it is entirely unreasonable to place all these demands on the athletes, and not insure all needs are met. We say, we expect you to not take any handouts from anyone, we say we expect you to give us your time as both a student and athlete, we say we expect you to perform. At the end of the day, it isn't too much to say ok fine, you get what grad students get, you get what was available before the NCAA blocked it. We'll ensure that you get full cost of living, since we darn sure won't let you get it from anyone else.
