Meaning behind guaranteed win games

 Scheduling the right for the right game has become big business in college athletics.
 By definition, there are no "guarantees" in athletics, as the idea of athletic competition is anyone can beat their opponent on the right day. However, most sports fans know that in many cases that is wishful thinking at best.
 Many schools have shelled out hundreds of thousands of dollars to schedule lesser opponents to come to their university for what is perceived to be a guaranteed win.
But what does this do for competitive balance in collegiate athletics? In a word, nothing. There are no positive or negative effects on either side as far as competition goes in these games. Generally, major conference schools use these games as early season tune-ups before their conference play begins.
As for the mid-major conference schools, their benefits can vary depending on what sport the play. For basketball teams, scheduling a difficult non-conference schedule can go a long way toward making the NCAA Tournament at the end of the season. Strength of schedule is a serious part of the criteria that the NCAA Tournament committee uses to choose which teams make it and which teams don't.
For all mid major schools however, the monetary gain that they get from these contests is usually too great to pass up. This past season, Ohio State University paid an average of $95,666 for mid-majors to come and play their squad.
This money is usually essential not only for the traveling team, but every team involved in a school's athletic program. Usually, basketball and football programs are the major money making teams in a university's athletic department. But there are other teams that still need money, primarily to cover travel expenses.
In those cases, athletic directors and coaches take the responsibility to put the teams who can make money for the athletic program in games that seem like a "guarantee" for the opposing team.
It seems like an unfair situation for the visiting teams involved, but it is the situation that many schools find themselves in. Teams who bear the brunt of the financial burden for their programs are always going to have a few difficult games a season, for themselves and their fans.