And it is. It's an extremely science oriented major that demands a lot of lab time and then 8 hour clinicals once to twice a week beginning as soon as Sophomore year depending upon the program. That said, it all depends upon the coach and the SB program they have. We found a couple of smaller D1 programs that worked closely with their nursing department as well as about 1/2 the D2's that made offers. Since D3's aren't allowed to offer Athletic Scholarships, they have no choice but to actually bow to the academic side of things and usually the more successful D3 SB programs bow to the academic departments and tend to draw better athletes due to their high academic standing in the college world. That's why you'll find the most support from the coaches in D3 IMO.
Just adding some info concerning D3's... My DD is currently undecided between 3 different D3 schools. Each has the program she wants and she knows that there will be significant lab time required as she advances through the program. She has talked extensively with the head coach and the department head at each of these schools, and each seems to work together well. it seems, at least in the case of these 3 schools, that the athletic departments and the academic departments have a good working relationship that may be beneficial to DD's long term goals. But as others have mentioned, not all schools have this type of relationship between athletics and academics. It is important to understand that before a decision is made.