.Northern Illinois stunned No. 5 Notre Dame last weekend on a last-second basket to notch university regulation football's first huge distress of 2024. For the Huskies, it's a gain they'll be commemorating for years to come. For the Battling Irish, it's a season-crusher. To lose the home opener to a small university coming from a greatly inferior event was actually an embarrassment for Notre Dame.Especially because they paid for NIU $1.4 million to accomplish it.This shines an illumination on among the longest and also very most pricey traditions in university volleyball: warranty games. They are actually additionally gotten in touch with "money video games," "salary games," or, as I as if to call them, "purchase full weeks." A pricey (and also unsafe) traditionFor decades, in the first few weeks of the time, significant university volleyball companies have spent smaller schools to follow to play them in their house.In Week 1 alone, much more than $35 thousand was spent all over a minimum of 55 assurance games, according to Front Workplace Athletics. Alabama wrote the largest examination to its own enemy, Western side Kentucky, for an enormous $1.9 million. WKU shed that video game 63-- 0, yet they perhaps reached the rely on the bus ride home and probably will not think twice about it.In Week 2, 3 universities-- Western Michigan, Center Tennessee, and Utah Condition-- received payments greater than NIU's $1.4 thousand. They shed by a consolidated credit rating of 156-- 3, however they take away an overall of $4.85 thousand in the process.It's typically a good deal for each crews. The little schools acquire a paycheck, the major schools get another home video game to milk gameday earnings. The small college gets to play on the significant stage and also acquire national exposure, the large one acquires a cupcake on the schedule to begin the year in a sporting activity with no preseason. Therefore all's effectively and excellent up until the minimal team determines to present out and also draw the distress.