.Northern Illinois stunned No. 5 Notre Dame last weekend on a last-second basket to scratch college football's first big distress of 2024. For the Huskies, it is actually a gain they'll be commemorating for several years to follow. For the Fighting Irish, it is actually a season-crusher. To lose the home opener to a small institution coming from a significantly poor event was a discomfort for Notre Dame.Especially considering that they paid for NIU $1.4 million to do it.This shines a light on some of the lengthiest and also very most pricey practices in college volleyball: promise video games. They're likewise gotten in touch with "cash video games," "income activities," or even, as I such as to contact them, "get full weeks." A costly (as well as high-risk) traditionFor many years, in the first couple of weeks of the period, major college volleyball institutions have paid out smaller sized schools to follow to play them in their house.In Week 1 alone, more than $35 million was spent all over a minimum of 55 promise activities, depending on to Front Office Sports. Alabama composed the largest check to its challenger, Western side Kentucky, for a tremendous $1.9 thousand. WKU lost that video game 63-- 0, yet they possibly reached the rely on the bus ride home as well as very likely will not reconsider it.In Week 2, 3 universities-- Western Michigan, Center Tennessee, and also Utah Condition-- obtained payments much bigger than NIU's $1.4 million. They shed through a consolidated credit rating of 156-- 3, yet they took home an overall of $4.85 thousand in the process.It's commonly a deal for both teams. The tiny institutions get an income, the major schools obtain one more home video game to milk gameday income. The tiny school reaches play on the large stage and obtain national visibility, the huge one acquires a cupcake on the timetable to begin the year in a sport without preseason. Therefore all's properly and also great until the lower crew makes a decision to show out and draw the trouble.