.Northern Illinois stunned No. 5 Notre Dame last weekend on a last-second basket to scratch university regulation football's very first significant trouble of 2024. For the Huskies, it is actually a succeed they'll be celebrating for a long times ahead. For the Dealing with Irish, it's a season-crusher. To lose the home opener to a small institution coming from an extremely poor conference was a humiliation for Notre Dame.Especially given that they paid for NIU $1.4 million to perform it.This beams an illumination on some of the lengthiest and also very most expensive heritages in college volleyball: promise games. They are actually additionally phoned "amount of money games," "salary video games," or, as I like to contact all of them, "acquire weeks." A pricey (and dangerous) traditionFor decades, in the 1st handful of full weeks of the season, major university football companies have spent smaller sized schools to find to play all of them in their house.In Week 1 alone, greater than $35 million was actually devoted across a minimum of 55 promise video games, depending on to Front end Office Athletics. Alabama wrote the largest check to its own opponent, Western side Kentucky, for a tremendous $1.9 thousand. WKU dropped that activity 63-- 0, yet they most likely attacked the count on the bus trip home and also probably will not hesitate about it.In Week 2, three colleges-- Western Michigan, Center Tennessee, and also Utah State-- got payments much bigger than NIU's $1.4 million. They dropped by a mixed rating of 156-- 3, however they take away a total amount of $4.85 thousand in the process.It's generally a bargain for each crews. The small schools receive a salary, the major institutions receive yet another home video game to dairy gameday income. The little institution gets to play on the big phase and also get nationwide direct exposure, the huge one receives a dish on the routine to begin the year in a sporting activity with no preseason. Thus all's effectively as well as great until the lesser group makes a decision to reveal out as well as pull the trouble.