If they have an academic scholarship from the school it is counted as an athletic scholarship. TOPS is from the state, not the school, so it is allowable. There are lots of academic scholarships out there that ARE allowable and lots of partial scholarship sports staffs that are very good at finding them and helping their players get them. But if it is from the University or a booster, it is a no-no. I am very certain this is true if the athlete receives any athletic scholarship money.
It is possible that such scholarships are allowable for true walk on players; but you can bet that the NCAA is watching very closely if a contributing player is getting money from the school in any way that might be seen as an attempt to circumvent the scholarship limits.