.Northern Illinois stunned No. 5 Notre Dame last weekend on a last-second basket to scratch college regulation football's very first major trouble of 2024. For the Huskies, it is actually a succeed they'll be celebrating for a long times to find. For the Fighting Irish, it's a season-crusher. To lose the home opener to a tiny university from a greatly substandard event was actually an awkwardness for Notre Dame.Especially given that they paid out NIU $1.4 million to accomplish it.This shines a light on some of the lengthiest and very most costly customs in university volleyball: guarantee games. They're also contacted "loan video games," "salary video games," or, as I as if to contact them, "buy full weeks." A costly (and high-risk) traditionFor years, in the first handful of full weeks of the season, primary college soccer institutions have paid out smaller institutions ahead to play them in their house.In Full week 1 alone, greater than $35 million was actually spent across a minimum of 55 promise video games, depending on to Front Workplace Sports. Alabama composed the most significant check to its own opponent, Western Kentucky, for a monstrous $1.9 thousand. WKU dropped that activity 63-- 0, however they probably attacked the count on the bus experience home and most likely will not reconsider it.In Full week 2, three schools-- Western Michigan, Middle Tennessee, and Utah Condition-- obtained payments much bigger than NIU's $1.4 thousand. They dropped by a bundled credit rating of 156-- 3, yet they take away a total amount of $4.85 million in the process.It's commonly a deal for each teams. The tiny institutions get a payday, the huge institutions receive an additional home game to dairy gameday income. The little college gets to use the large stage and receive nationwide direct exposure, the significant one acquires a cupcake on the timetable to begin the year in a sport without any preseason. Thus all's effectively and also great till the smaller crew makes a decision to present out and draw the distress.