When I was a child I loved watching all of the athletes come through Ohio State, it was fun thinking all the players loved their school as much as I did/do. This was back in the era of my life where Ohio State was set up as the good guys and every other team was their foil in a very Saturday morning cartoon context.
Growing up a little and listening to some of them speak during interviews I thought this guy isn't a genius, maybe I'm being unfair he isn't in class at the moment he is talking to a reporter. There was still a part of me that wanted to hold on to that idealized notion of "my team".
By middle school high school there was no denying that some players were using the school to get to the NFL, that is why my favorite player during my lifetime will always be Eddie George won the Heisman, left early but came back and finished his degree. Hell, after Ohio State he went on to earn his MBA from Northwestern. Football was important to him, Ohio State was important to him, but education was important to him as well.
Then I went to Ohio State and had multiple athletes in classes that I looked at with raised eyebrows, while I'm not going to throw out any names I knew they wouldn't be there if not for football/basketball. One very notable player skipped a class where the syllabus stated attendance would be counted as part of your grade, every time he wasn't there and the attendance sheet was sent around his name was always on the list.
Now my opinion has changed so dramatically (not just by this incident) that I feel like there should be a D league for the NFL and NBA. Kids that go to school on a scholarship should sign-up for four years and do their best to earn their degree, if you leave early you pay it back. The point is this is not just some sports team it is a team representing a University it's student body and it's alumni if you aren't coming to the university for an education then you shouldn't be coming at all.
I say this because I still think college athletics would be great, I would still go to Ohio State games whether the players on the field go on to pro careers or not. I would still care just as much about every Big Ten Championship, every National Championship, every win over Michigan. If I couldn't get to the games I would still go out of my way to arrange my schedule so that I could watch them on TV. I have a feeling I'm not the only one that feels this way.
The reason this doesn't happen isn't because the NFL or NBA don't have enough money, the reason it doesn't happen is simple a college athlete is far more valuable to the pros than a D-league or academy player would ever be. They know that many of us care more about these players because we feel a connection to them from their college days. It has nothing to do with the cost of starting up a minor league/academies or the product on the field.
So I'll be honest and say I don't love college athletics as much as I did when I was a kid. It's still great fun, but now I see the business side of the game and the business side sucks. I wish it was as pure a game as I once thought it was but I'm no where near that naive now.