.Northern Illinois stunned No. 5 Notre Dame final weekend break on a last-second basket to mark university soccer's very first large trouble of 2024. For the Huskies, it's a gain they'll be commemorating for years to follow. For the Fighting Irish, it's a season-crusher. To shed the home opener to a small school coming from an extremely poor event was actually an awkwardness for Notre Dame.Especially given that they paid out NIU $1.4 million to perform it.This sparkles a lighting on one of the lengthiest and also most costly practices in university volleyball: guarantee games. They are actually additionally called "cash video games," "salary games," or, as I like to phone all of them, "get full weeks." A costly (and also unsafe) traditionFor many years, in the 1st couple of full weeks of the season, major college soccer companies have actually paid smaller institutions to come to play all of them in their house.In Week 1 alone, much more than $35 million was actually invested throughout at least 55 promise video games, depending on to Face Workplace Athletics. Alabama composed the most significant inspection to its own challenger, Western Kentucky, for a massive $1.9 million. WKU dropped that activity 63-- 0, yet they probably attacked the bank on the bus ride home as well as probably will not hesitate about it.In Full week 2, 3 institutions-- Western side Michigan, Middle Tennessee, and Utah Condition-- got payments much bigger than NIU's $1.4 thousand. They shed through a bundled score of 156-- 3, yet they took home an overall of $4.85 thousand in the process.It's typically a deal for each crews. The small colleges receive an income, the significant schools acquire another home video game to dairy gameday income. The tiny college comes to play on the huge stage and receive national exposure, the big one gets a cupcake on the schedule to start the year in a sporting activity without any preseason. Thus all's effectively and excellent till the minimal team determines to show out as well as take the trouble.