The true injustice is how much money universities make on the backs of athletes who don't earn a red cent. And the coach salaries demonstrate the value of collegiate athletics, adding insult to real injuries.
Furthermore, schools aren't making money on the backs of athletes, they're raising money. That money doesn't get redistributed to shareholders, it gets added to the endowment and spent on the university. If anything student-athletes should get an income tax credit on their first X dollars earned after college rather than a check, basically a modified form of the tax credit they would get for any other charitable contribution.
* There is tremendous pressure to juice for any athlete who hopes to go pro or even be competitive.
* People gamble heavily on collegiate athletics. Of course you have to worry about fixed games.
* Look at USC, Miami, or just about any major sports school: The players barely have to attend class to remain eligible.
* No, they're making money. Take a look at the salaries of coaches, athletic directors, and college presidents and think again. If universities cared about endowments, they'd spend the athletic dollars on academics, investing in contributions from future alumni.
I highly recommend "What's My Name, Fool!", specifically the section on collegiate athletics (page 230).
I'll check out the book though.
Try to get a million+ to finance the fencing team, or women's wrestling, or (har) ultimate frisbee, or any other worthwhile, but not extremely popular, sport. The 200 people you see on TV get a disproportionate amount of the funding.
From http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=510756 "Former bond managers David R. Mittelman and Maurice Samuels were paid $18 million and $16.9 million, respectively, for their work at Harvard Management Company (HMC), which invests the endowment. Jack R. Meyer, the firm’s former president, received $6 million for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2005."
Not that they don't deserve it.
At a major sports school, athletes get tons of perks - from scheduling classes early, private tutoring available in any subject if needed, room & board, clothing & athletic gear, personal medical trainers & Doctors, etc.
Of course, it is in the athletic department/University's interest to take very good care of their players -- both for the ability to bring in new talent, and also for the continued exceptional performance of the players on the field.
All that being said, there are many sports out of the typical 29 at a D-I University, that are not profitable and not generating significant revenue. Typically, from all the empirical data I've seen, that would be every sport except for Football & Basketball.
So there is a bit of 'wealth distribution' as players in sports that aren't significant money-makers still have access to full-tuition scholarships.