.Northern Illinois stunned No. 5 Notre Dame final weekend on a last-second basket to mark university regulation football's very first big distress of 2024. For the Huskies, it's a win they'll be celebrating for several years to follow. For the Combating Irish, it's a season-crusher. To lose the home opener to a small university from an extremely substandard conference was an awkwardness for Notre Dame.Especially given that they paid NIU $1.4 million to do it.This shines an illumination on among the lengthiest and also most expensive customs in college soccer: guarantee games. They are actually likewise contacted "funds activities," "payday video games," or, as I as if to contact all of them, "purchase weeks." A pricey (and also dangerous) traditionFor years, in the 1st handful of weeks of the period, major university soccer organizations have paid out smaller sized schools to find to play them in their house.In Full week 1 alone, greater than $35 thousand was actually devoted around at least 55 warranty activities, according to Front end Office Sports. Alabama wrote the biggest check to its own opponent, Western Kentucky, for an enormous $1.9 million. WKU lost that video game 63-- 0, however they possibly hit the count on the bus ride home and also very likely will not think twice about it.In Week 2, 3 universities-- Western side Michigan, Middle Tennessee, and also Utah Condition-- obtained payments bigger than NIU's $1.4 thousand. They shed by a mixed rating of 156-- 3, but they took home a total of $4.85 million in the process.It's commonly a bargain for both crews. The small colleges receive a salary, the huge schools receive one more home activity to milk gameday income. The tiny school gets to play on the significant phase and receive nationwide visibility, the big one receives a dish on the routine to start the year in a sport without preseason. Therefore all's well as well as great up until the minimal group makes a decision to show out as well as pull the upset.