.Northern Illinois stunned No. 5 Notre Dame last weekend on a last-second basket to mark university soccer's 1st major upset of 2024. For the Huskies, it's a win they'll be commemorating for years ahead. For the Fighting Irish, it's a season-crusher. To shed the home opener to a little school from a vastly substandard event was actually a shame for Notre Dame.Especially because they paid for NIU $1.4 million to accomplish it.This beams an illumination on among the lengthiest and also most expensive traditions in university soccer: promise activities. They are actually additionally phoned "funds activities," "income activities," or, as I just like to contact all of them, "buy weeks." A pricey (and unsafe) traditionFor decades, in the 1st handful of full weeks of the period, significant college football organizations have actually paid smaller colleges to come to play them in their house.In Full week 1 alone, more than $35 million was invested around a minimum of 55 warranty video games, depending on to Face Office Athletics. Alabama created the biggest check to its own enemy, Western side Kentucky, for an enormous $1.9 thousand. WKU shed that video game 63-- 0, yet they perhaps hit the count on the bus ride home as well as likely won't reconsider it.In Week 2, 3 institutions-- Western side Michigan, Center Tennessee, and Utah State-- received payouts bigger than NIU's $1.4 thousand. They dropped through a bundled score of 156-- 3, but they take away an overall of $4.85 thousand in the process.It's typically a bargain for both staffs. The small institutions get a paycheck, the big schools obtain an additional home game to milk gameday earnings. The tiny university gets to play on the big stage and also acquire national exposure, the huge one obtains a dish on the timetable to begin the year in a sporting activity without preseason. Therefore all's well as well as excellent until the lesser team decides to show out and also take the distress.