For the vast majority of student-athletes, the term still applies. Most are using their athletic scholarships to get a good education. They wouldn't need to spend a day in college to become a professional golfer, tennis player, baseball player, etc. It's the elite football players and one-and-done b-ball players who make the term "student-athlete" a farce. Some are open (or brash) enough to admit it. They make no bones about the fact that they're in college primarily to play their sport so they can go high in the pro draft. "Student" hardly describes them.
Yes, those are the players that shouldn't be in college in the first place. It's a travesty that we let the one-and-done phenomenon flourish as it has. Looking at you Kentucky. And, then, in football we have the players like the QB from O$U who once famously said, "We ain't come here to play school." Now, to be fair, Mr. Jones later actually became a good student and did graduate. But, the statement he made does reflect the attitudes of many of the elite football athletes who never do value their education and view college as simply a stepping stone to the NFL.