.Northern Illinois stunned No. 5 Notre Dame final weekend break on a last-second basket to notch college soccer's initial huge distress of 2024. For the Huskies, it is actually a gain they'll be actually celebrating for years to follow. For the Combating Irish, it is actually a season-crusher. To shed the home opener to a small school from a vastly substandard event was actually a humiliation for Notre Dame.Especially given that they spent NIU $1.4 thousand to perform it.This radiates an illumination on some of the longest and very most expensive practices in university volleyball: assurance games. They are actually additionally called "loan games," "income activities," or, as I as if to call them, "get weeks." A costly (and dangerous) traditionFor decades, in the initial handful of weeks of the period, primary university volleyball establishments have actually spent much smaller schools to follow to play all of them in their house.In Week 1 alone, greater than $35 million was spent around a minimum of 55 promise activities, depending on to Face Office Athletics. Alabama created the largest inspection to its challenger, Western side Kentucky, for a whopping $1.9 thousand. WKU dropped that video game 63-- 0, however they most likely attacked the bank on the bus flight home and most likely will not reconsider it.In Full week 2, three universities-- Western side Michigan, Center Tennessee, and also Utah Condition-- acquired payouts greater than NIU's $1.4 thousand. They shed through a combined credit rating of 156-- 3, however they took home a total amount of $4.85 million in the process.It's generally a good deal for both staffs. The small universities acquire a payday, the huge schools obtain one more home game to dairy gameday profits. The little institution comes to play on the major stage and receive national visibility, the major one receives a cupcake on the timetable to begin the year in a sport with no preseason. Thus all's well as well as really good till the lesser staff makes a decision to present out and also pull the upset.