Sadly too many athletes who come back for a degree are in dire straits financially. They only come back (I'm not restricting this to SU athletes) when they have exhausted all avenues on the court to make any type of living and realize when approaching middle age many with numerous dependents, that they really do need a degree and are poorly prepared for life after their playing days. Few save any of their money for that degree despite people saying when a player leaves that they could always come back and pay for it themselves with all the money they will have earned leaving early for the NBA/overseas etc. SU athletes are fortunate because of the stability with long term coaches and SU connected grads working at SU - many colleges that go through numerous coaching and administrative regimes don't provide former athletes the connections after their playing days end a decade or more from their college glory days.
The Melo's, Lebron's , Durant's etc don't have those worries but those are the exceptions not the rule. Hopefully the vast majority of players, many who are impulse driven have a plan for the remaining 40 years of their lives who are hoping to start new careers a decade or 2 behind their former classsmates to provide a living for themselves and their families. Many hope to go into coaching etc but those positions require degrees. I do think colleges have a responsibility that their players have majors that provide a bright future for them past college not just courses that keep them eligible even if that's the only thing the player cares about at the time. Those players have a much more difficult time 'picking up a degree' and many need to start all over again, an almost impossible task time wise at their age not even considering financial considerations.
