.Northern Illinois stunned No. 5 Notre Dame last weekend on a last-second field goal to scratch college regulation football's very first huge distress of 2024. For the Huskies, it is actually a succeed they'll be actually commemorating for years to find. For the Fighting Irish, it is actually a season-crusher. To drop the home opener to a little university from a significantly poor conference was actually a shame for Notre Dame.Especially since they paid for NIU $1.4 million to do it.This shines an illumination on some of the longest and very most expensive heritages in university volleyball: assurance video games. They're likewise contacted "funds games," "payday games," or even, as I as if to contact them, "buy full weeks." A costly (and unsafe) traditionFor decades, in the very first couple of full weeks of the period, major college volleyball organizations have paid for smaller sized universities to follow to play all of them in their house.In Week 1 alone, more than $35 thousand was spent around at the very least 55 promise games, according to Face Office Athletics. Alabama created the most significant examination to its own opponent, Western Kentucky, for a tremendous $1.9 million. WKU lost that video game 63-- 0, yet they perhaps reached the bank on the bus flight home and also very likely won't reconsider it.In Week 2, 3 universities-- Western side Michigan, Center Tennessee, and Utah Condition-- received payments bigger than NIU's $1.4 million. They lost through a consolidated rating of 156-- 3, yet they take away an overall of $4.85 thousand in the process.It's generally a bargain for both teams. The small institutions acquire a paycheck, the big institutions acquire yet another home game to dairy gameday earnings. The tiny college comes to play on the big stage and get national visibility, the large one gets a dish on the schedule to begin the year in a sporting activity with no preseason. Thus all's properly and also really good until the lesser group decides to show out as well as draw the upset.