@bclintonk:
“To answer your question, I’d say any spending above $10 million on non-need based aid is “substantial” if you’re not meeting full need for in-state students.”
At UIUC, 332 student-athletes received an average of about $30K in athletic scholarships:
https://dailyillini.com/sports/2015/10/26/athletic-scholarships-at-illinois-by-the-numbers/
That takes them to $10M right there. So what you are saying then is that you deem giving any academic merit scholarships to be too substantial if a public school does not meet full need for in-state students.