15.3.4.2 Reduction or Cancellation Permitted. Institutional financial aid based in any degree on athletics ability may be reduced or canceled during the period of the award if the recipient: (Revised: 1/10/92, 1/11/94, 1/10/95, 1/9/96, 12/13/05, 9/11/07, 8/7/14)
(a) Renders himself or herself ineligible for intercollegiate competition;
(b) Fraudulently misrepresents any information on an application, letter of intent or financial aid agreement
(see Bylaw 15.3.4.2.3);
(c) Engages in serious misconduct warranting substantial disciplinary penalty (see Bylaw 15.3.4.2.4); or
(d) Voluntarily (on his or her own initiative) withdraws from a sport at any time for personal reasons; however, the recipient’s financial aid may not be awarded to another student-athlete in the academic term in which the aid was reduced or canceled. A student-athlete’s request for written permission to contact another four-year collegiate institution regarding a possible transfer does not constitute a voluntary withdrawal.

Using VT for example purposes only, I interpret 15.3.4.2 as grounds that a school has for reducing or withdrawing an athletic scholarship for a student-athlete. Mark Leal may be an example for (d) assuming he remained in school to finish up his degree instead of accepting a job offer. If Leal had remained at VT for finish up the degree, then the athletic department could have reduced his athletic scholarship to a value at the time he told Coach Beamer he was leaving the team. Leal would have/could have been on the hook to pay for the cost that equals the few weeks of the regular season plus the couple weeks in December leading up to exams/graduation and assuming the hearing was held before the end of Fall Semester (per Bylaw 15.3.4.2.1 and 15.3.4.2.2). Bylaw 15.3.2.3 Hearing Opportunity doesn't spell out specific timeframes the school has to complete the hearing process, so it is unclear if VT could have wrapped up everything before the end of Fall Semester. Even if the Fall Semester is over, Leal could have owe VT the money retroactively. At least I don't see any bylaws that would prevent VT from collecting the money owed retroactively.