.Northern Illinois stunned No. 5 Notre Dame final weekend on a last-second basket to mark college football's very first huge upset of 2024. For the Huskies, it's a gain they'll be actually celebrating for years to follow. For the Combating Irish, it's a season-crusher. To shed the home opener to a little institution coming from an extremely inferior event was actually an embarrassment for Notre Dame.Especially due to the fact that they paid NIU $1.4 million to perform it.This beams a light on one of the lengthiest and also very most costly heritages in university soccer: assurance activities. They are actually likewise called "funds video games," "income games," or, as I as if to call them, "acquire weeks." A costly (and also dangerous) traditionFor many years, in the 1st few full weeks of the period, significant college volleyball organizations have spent smaller universities to come to play all of them in their house.In Full week 1 alone, greater than $35 thousand was actually invested throughout at the very least 55 guarantee video games, depending on to Front end Office Athletics. Alabama wrote the largest check to its own challenger, Western side Kentucky, for an immense $1.9 million. WKU lost that game 63-- 0, yet they probably attacked the bank on the bus flight home and also likely will not think twice about it.In Week 2, three schools-- Western Michigan, Middle Tennessee, and also Utah State-- acquired payments larger than NIU's $1.4 thousand. They lost through a mixed score of 156-- 3, however they took home a total amount of $4.85 thousand in the process.It's normally a deal for each teams. The small schools obtain an income, the large schools acquire yet another home activity to dairy gameday revenue. The tiny institution reaches use the significant phase and also receive nationwide visibility, the large one receives a cupcake on the schedule to start the year in a sporting activity without any preseason. Thus all's well and good until the smaller crew makes a decision to present out and pull the distress.