Depends how you define and implement "athletics" IMO. Club sports, informal martial arts, swimming lessons, that sort of thing are great. I was required to take four semesters of "physical education" credits of these sorts in order to graduate with my CS BS. These big sports sports that some colleges have going on, though... If a student wants to do that on their own time and dime then I of course have no objection, but the amount that even the not-really-good-at-sports schools are shelling out for facilities and equipment and coaches for the few students who participate is simply not justifiable in 99% of cases.

The athletics craze is an US-only thing as far as I can tell.

Other countries (at least Europe and Latin America) basically don´t have athletic scolarships and any athletic program is a strictly extracurricular activity.