The NCAA is pretty scummy: http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2011/10/the-sham... but what pro sport requires a college degree?

The NFL does not require a degree, but does have an age requirement which occasionally comes up as a hot debate point: "The NFL Eligibility Requirements NFL rule requires a player to either be out of high school for three years or have finished three college football seasons before joining the league. (Lupica, M. 2004) The NFL is the only major professional sport that prohibits the drafting of players who have not completed three college seasons or who are not three years removed from high school graduation (Gehring, 2004; Nieporent 2004). The NFL claims that this rule is in the athlete's best interest. The NFL argues that this rule protects player’s physical safety. However, the NFL and the NCAA benefit by capitalizing on amateur athletes."

http://www.thesportjournal.org/article/age-requirement-profe...

To be drafted by the NBA you have to be "at least one year out of high school".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eligibility_for_the_NBA_Draft

The degree is not required, but this forces most into at least one year of indentured service to a college. You can sit out, but how will you be evaluated for the draft?

There is a scandal in the sense that the people running the schools earn significant benefits at the expense of the students: they charge the students substantial tuition rates, leaving the students with horrible debt, and a low probability that their education can be applied to cover the debt (more likely, the students' own tenacity will help them overcome the debt). You might argue that the students willingly walk into the trap, but I'd argue that the university has a duty and responsibility to guide the students towards a successful life path, and these days, that would legitimately mean advising their students to attend other schools.

"Students willingly walk into the trap" is an interesting way to describe it, that I think only applies if in fact the student doesn't find success. I feel that I'm doing pretty well, so I wouldn't characterize it as a trap. I would characterize it as a challenge. For me it was the challenge of "launch."

But, for some students, it very well may be a trap. I've had more than a few friends spend $150k on education, to only make $30k a year as a middle school teacher. Friends who graduated with "independent study" degrees in "film and medicine." Some For some people, trap does adequately describe it.

The point about head coaches is interesting, because while NYU has athletic programs, the funding (if I remember correctly) is hugely less than that than other private schools. NYU students just don't care about athletics.

Two additional points: 1) Conde Nast gives loans to editors and higher ups. [1] [2] 2) Having worked with some of the "all star" professors in varying capacities (and getting a glimpse, however small, of the bargaining process) a lot of other universities are often trying to poach research professors from NYU. Housing, which is a hugely hard "thing" to solve in NYC, is a large bargaining chip.

True - I was generalizing about coaches. But... Coaches are the highest paid public employees in most states. (http://deadspin.com/infographic-is-your-states-highest-paid-...)

And I hear you on the necessity of this benefit. It's like anything else, if you want the best of the best in a competitive market, you have to find a way to pay them.