To be fair though, college basketball and football players, especially in competitive schools wouldn't need a part-time job, scholarships and sponsorships would

To be fair though, college basketball and football players, especially in competitive schools wouldn't need a part-time job, scholarships and sponsorships would probably be enough to give them a nice amount of cash. On the other side, without the revenue coming from those sports, your friend's program wouldn't be nearly as competitive, facilities wouldn't be as good, scholarships would be reduced, and coaching would be lower quality, and quite possible that there would be out of pocket expenses. There is a huge net positive to all other student athletics that comes out of the most competitive college sports programs. The programs that can usually pay their own way are mens/womens basketball, mens football, and womens gymnastics. Tennis, volleyball and soccer can probably break even. Everything else needs big subsidies.