The fake classes were quite clearly not created for athletes. Most of the students "in" those classes were not athletes. Athletes definitely took advantage of them, but the athletic program did not create them.
I believe this is contrary to the findings. The classes were created for the athletes, but then were made available to everyone to cover it up. Then, as more fraternities found out about it, others started enrolling, which eventually led to issues as these joke classes became widely known.
NC has used that story to recreate the narrative more to their liking, i.e. they were always legitimate classes available to everyone.
Which is why it is so hard for the NCAA to find a remedy for this.
The remedy is easy, but there's absolutely no will do so. You have to realize why the NCAA exists. To maximize profits to its member schools.
The PR function of enforcing rules is mostly for show, and a last resort to make it look like there's integrity, when a scandal breaks that needs some PR damage control.
Amateurism had wide acceptance for most of the university timeline, but has eroded to the point of being a joke. Pay and benefits exist in some form or another, and professional leagues await, with college bball and fball being primary training grounds.
Here's a thought experiment:
Let's say I'm a coveted academic student. What's to stop schools from bidding for my services with tuition, room, board, and stipend? We already know the answer to this. Nothing. Furthermore, would a school recruiting me object to me getting money from a relative to help attend their school, or support my success? Of course not. So why is it a problem in sports? Another question we already know the answer to. Payroll and the competitive market would quickly eat up the money that's already on the table.
IF the NCAA wanted to stop this (and it doesn't), Universities would authorize independent powers for monitoring, using reasonable rules of fair competition, with proven and that we know work. Universities would see significant fines, commensurate with violations. Coaches and players would receive bans from competition. Repeat offenders would be looking at particularly stiff penalties.
None of that is going to happen.
IMHO, the current rules put a heavy burden on people with integrity, who want to follow the rules, but struggle with how messed up the system is. But it is what it is, and that probably won't change for some time.
