comparison? There may even be other factors which could make it an apples to oranges comparison. For example a college/university must be accredited by an educational accreditor before it offer a degree/trade certificate to its students. VT received its accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). What is the accreditation process for someone who wishes to play a sport at a college/university? The reason I said "sport," is because if a school was allowed to offer that opportunity in 1 sport, then I believe it would have to offer the same opportunity for all the sports its sponsors.

Another potential difference is that athletic scholarships, whether full or partial, could raise questions about whether said student-athlete would still qualify under the school's admission standards without the athletic scholarship.

A third potential difference is that athletic teams have roster limits whereas academic programs don't have to have limits. A coach could either cut a player on the roster or decide to not renew the player's scholarship so it could be used for an incoming player even though the player did nothing wrong to warrant the removal of the scholarship. I have never heard of a dean doing that on the academic side of the house especially if the student is satisfying all the requirements established by the academic department. Now the school may regulate the size of an incoming class or how many students are allowed to take the class at any given time, but that doesn't indefinitely prevent the student from still pursuing the degree at the school.

You definitely do have an interesting take on the situation and I do see where you are coming from. I am just unsure how strong the comparison is between the two.