Well, its a bit more complicated than that.
Setting aside the "education" which for many of these athletes is dubious, I think the biggest benefit these athletes get is no different than traditional students - they get the tools and facilities to prepare for a chosen career. And, that is not an insignificant benefit - imo.
And, the current price for access to coaches and training facilities - is that you forego most monetary reimbursement for your efforts.
Is that a fair trade off?

It probably is. The kids who go pro - they are the ones who are likely driving the revenue - and they got what they bargained for - a career pathway. The kids that don't go pro - well, they are not the ones driving revenue to the schools, and probably should not be asking for more money....
Now, could some of these schools take money from the coaches, and pay the players a little bit? sure. But, are you going to pay the orchestra members? What about the marching band? Do the drama students get a cut of the house? Do the science students get a portion of the grant fees?
From the student's perspective - I get that their argument is that the schools are making money off their efforts, and that the fans come to see the athletes. But, I don't think that is really true. Colleges really sell a brand. People want to see "Duke" basketball, or "Alabama" football. And the proof is when you look at attendances for minor league sports (or "D" league basketball) - (relatively) nobody goes to see those games - but those same athletes on a college team can be a big draw - and the only difference is the college brand. So, I don't know how much revenue these individual athletes are actually generating.
The other option is to allow the players to get paid from outside sources. Market value would determine who gets what - and it takes the issue of equality out of the schools hands. Opens up a whole can of worms. But, it lets a lot of people influence easily influenced young men and women