.Northern Illinois stunned No. 5 Notre Dame last weekend on a last-second basket to scratch college soccer's first large distress of 2024. For the Huskies, it is actually a win they'll be actually celebrating for a long times to come. For the Combating Irish, it is actually a season-crusher. To lose the home opener to a little college from a greatly poor event was actually an embarrassment for Notre Dame.Especially given that they paid NIU $1.4 thousand to carry out it.This shines a lighting on one of the lengthiest and most pricey traditions in university soccer: warranty games. They are actually additionally phoned "cash games," "paycheck video games," or even, as I just like to call them, "buy weeks." A costly (and high-risk) traditionFor years, in the initial handful of full weeks of the time, major university football institutions have paid out much smaller colleges to come to play all of them in their house.In Full week 1 alone, much more than $35 thousand was devoted around at least 55 warranty games, according to Front end Workplace Athletics. Alabama composed the largest check to its rival, Western side Kentucky, for a tremendous $1.9 million. WKU shed that video game 63-- 0, but they most likely hit the rely on the bus flight home as well as most likely won't hesitate about it.In Week 2, 3 schools-- Western side Michigan, Middle Tennessee, and Utah State-- acquired payouts greater than NIU's $1.4 million. They lost through a combined rating of 156-- 3, however they took home a total amount of $4.85 million in the process.It's usually a bargain for each staffs. The tiny schools receive a payday, the big universities receive yet another home video game to dairy gameday profits. The small college comes to use the significant phase and receive nationwide exposure, the major one obtains a cupcake on the schedule to start the year in a sporting activity without any preseason. Therefore all's well as well as really good up until the smaller crew makes a decision to present out and take the distress.