.Northern Illinois stunned No. 5 Notre Dame final weekend on a last-second basket to scratch university football's very first major upset of 2024. For the Huskies, it is actually a succeed they'll be celebrating for several years ahead. For the Battling Irish, it's a season-crusher. To drop the home opener to a little school coming from a greatly poor association was actually a shame for Notre Dame.Especially because they paid NIU $1.4 thousand to perform it.This sparkles an illumination on one of the longest as well as very most expensive practices in university soccer: assurance video games. They are actually likewise phoned "cash games," "salary activities," or even, as I like to call them, "acquire full weeks." An expensive (and risky) traditionFor decades, in the first handful of full weeks of the period, significant university volleyball companies have actually spent much smaller universities to find to play all of them in their house.In Full week 1 alone, greater than $35 thousand was devoted throughout a minimum of 55 promise games, according to Front Office Athletics. Alabama wrote the largest check to its own opponent, Western side Kentucky, for a whopping $1.9 million. WKU shed that game 63-- 0, yet they probably reached the rely on the bus ride home and probably will not reconsider it.In Week 2, three schools-- Western Michigan, Middle Tennessee, and also Utah State-- acquired payments much bigger than NIU's $1.4 million. They shed by a combined credit rating of 156-- 3, however they take away an overall of $4.85 thousand in the process.It's normally a deal for each teams. The tiny schools receive a payday, the significant institutions get one more home game to milk gameday revenue. The small school reaches use the huge phase as well as get national exposure, the major one obtains a cupcake on the timetable to begin the year in a sporting activity without preseason. Therefore all's properly and also excellent until the minimal crew determines to show out and also pull the trouble.