These players would not have to attend school. All other teams that did not bring large amounts of money into the university would continue to be run like Division III athletics. At the Division III level, there are no athletic scholarships so the athletes are not employees of the school. Student athletes who compete at this level are attending school for occupational goals outside the realm of sports. Rarely, with few exceptions like Jerry Rice and Devean George, does Division III athletes go on to participate at the professional level.
Sports take a backseat to the student's primary focus of earning their degree.
Unlike Division I scholarship recipients, they have paid their tuition out of their own pocket, or their family's pocket, and can quit their respective sports with no threat of losing their educational opportunities. As a Division III athlete, I feel having high quality athletes on campus does not undermine educational standards. A minute fraction of the student-athletes here barely have a remote chance of playing at the professional level. Most student-athletes are here to earn their degree and participate in sports on the side. To my knowledge, there have only been a few instances in which educational standards have been altered to permit a player to play.