OK, I’ll take your word on it. 
If there’s a mega 32-team conference someday, then I’m sure that mega-conference will want ND to join.
Worst case scenario, dare I say it, they could always join the Ivy League. 
No need to take my word for it,just research the issue.
Why? You posted it, so support it.
Not interested in researching this point, but if it is of interest to you: It was widely discussed when Nebraska, Maryland, & Rutgers joined the Big 10.
P.S. If I recall correctly,concern over scheduling enough high caliber opponents was the driving factor behind Notre Dame’s agreement with the ACC. (Contractually, ND only has to play 5 ACC football opponents in the regular season,but the agreement protects ND football if members from the other major conferences stop scheduling Notre Dame.)
I don’t think there is any conference that only allows the teams to play other teams in their conference. Many teams have the old state rivalries where the two schools are in different conferences (CU and Colo State, Florida and Florida state) but want to play. Nebraska always likes to play St. Mary’s Girls Choir to open the season with a 100-0 win. When Colorado State sold their coach to Florida a few years ago, one of the terms was that they have a home/away deal. For Colo State to play in Florida, it’s worth about $2million. It would be awful if the SEC only allowed in conference play and restrict how they do business.
In 2019 I went to the CU/Nebraska football game, the first time they’d played in Boulder since the break up of the Big 8. Crazy Nebraskans were paying 3x the price of a ticket and the stadium was bleeding red, bars and restaurants were full, hotels were booked. All the sweeter when CU overcame the 17-0 half time score and won in overtime. Come on back anytime Huskers. Bring your money.
Schools don’t want to play ‘conference only.’
I agree that currently non-conference games are routine. But the landscape of college football is changing. The bigger the conference, the lesser the “need” or “wisdom” of playing non-conference games.
The concerns focus on recruiting & on money. And there are multiple facets regarding both of these concerns, including bowl system money.
Also, as conferences expand to 18 or 20 team super conferences,more conference playoff games may be used to determine the conference champion for playoff bowl spots.
Articles suggest that the Big 10 consider raiding the ACC in order to encourage Notre Dame to follow. Other articles call for a selective merger between the Big 10 and the Pac 12 in order to garner lucrative west coast markets.
More changes are coming.
When Notre Dame wanted to join the Big Ten long ago, the Big Ten denied them three times.
Over the past couple of decades, ND has denied the B1G.
It’s time. Notre Dame is in the heart of Big Ten territory, a midwestern power. Michigan taught them to play. They have long rivalries with Purdue, Michigan, and Michigan State.
Once the Big XII folds, or sooner, it would make sense for the B1G to expand with (at least) Notre Dame and probably Iowa State. Maybe even West Virginia.
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A lot of us care about hockey.
If the SEC poaches Clemson from the ACC, all bets are off for the ensuing scramble. IMO, the most likely scenario is the BigTem absorbs the key AAU schools from the PAC, creating a western division. It would be great if ND were part of that expansion.
Agree that there are a lot of folks who love hockey and that players devote most of their lives to the sport, but college ice hockey is not a revenue sport. College ice hockey affiliations will not determine anything regarding conference alignments or realignments.
About 25 or 30 years ago, network TV tried to televise professional ice hockey games. Couldn’t get many viewers. Network executives determined that viewers wouldn’t watch because they couldn’t follow the puck because it was too small. TV placed a light on the puck which highlighted the puck throughout the game. Still did not attract enough viewers to keep ice hockey on network TV.
Conference moves/realignment are great fodder for talking heads. All kinds of speculation about what could happen. Nobody knows. But its fun to talk about (particularly if you get paid to talk).
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We’re developing a Paul Finebaum filter 
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People in the midwest have always had one of those. LOL
For some schools, Hockey is most certainly a revenue sport.
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Curious as to which schools ? And,of course, how much revenue ?
I wholeheartedly disagree with the premise of your post. While the college football landscape is changing, where Notre Dame fits in that landscape has not. Lack of championships aside they remain the preeminent big dog. No other school maintains a national interest like they do. The fact of the matter is that every conference would welcome them with open arms. Every television network wants them. The Big 10 and ACC both have been chasing them for years. Notre Dame is a bigger brand than the Big 10 or any conference for that matter. This idea that Notre Dame is somehow in a weak position is the wishful thinking of deluded Big 10 fans. They have been telling themselves that for quite some time. The advent of the NIL, if anything strengthens Notre Dame’s hand. As the only school that attracts a national following, a star player at Notre Dame is inarguably in a better position to make $$$ than any other school. This will only make it easier for Notre Dame’s to attract more and better talent. Aside from the aforementioned advantages of being the only school with a national following, Notre Dame is also sitting on $12 billion endowment which puts it in the top 10-15 wealthiest schools in the country. In short, no one is in a position to dictate terms to Notre Dame. They will let the process play out and determine for themselves what the best course of action for Notre Dame is. When the music stops they most certainly will have an advantageous seat at the table because well, they are Notre Dame.
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Good points. But the college football landscape is changing. How this will affect the handful of remaining independent football programs remains to be seen.
Notre Dame has comfort in knowing that it will have at least 5 games against ACC opponents each year through 2035 or 2036. Plus, the 3 service academies love playing Notre Dame.
I agree that today Notre Dame football is in a great position,but it is tomorrow that should be examined.
Both the Big 10 & the Pac 12 will soon be renegotiating their TV/media rights contracts.
The Big 10 contract runs through the 2022-2023 football season while the Pac 12 expires after the 2023-2024 season.
Will the Pac 12 & Big 10 join forces ? And, if so, how will this affect Notre Dame football.
The belief that Notre Dame football is invincible is not a wise position in this rapidly changing landscape.
FWIW Some are suggesting that the expansion of the SEC is not over. Clemson may be a target. As it is, Notre Dame football generates less revenue each year as an independent than it would as a full footballmember of the ACC (not to mention the behemoth payments in the Big 10 & the SEC).
What happens to ACC football if Clemson moves to the SEC or if Virginia ans UNC move to the Big 10 ?
You are looking at it the wrong way. Big 10 fans and fans of other schools in general look at Notre Dame as a dragon that needs to be slain. The power brokers in college athletics do not see them that way. They see them as the most desirable business partner. College football is a business, driven by the almighty dollar. I think you recognized this fact yourself in a previous post. Notre Dame occupies a unique position in the landscape - they have the ability to spark national interest and the money that goes along with that. There is simply no other school that can say that. Every university administrator, athletic director, conference commissioner and TV executive knows this. This is why with every previous change to the landscape we have seen an accommodation for Notre Dame. The power brokers want them at the table.
I see a changing landscape in college football. Notre Dame wants access to the college football playoffs.
As conferences grow, each one needs to tend to its own members and their interests. This,in my opinion, does not include enriching Notre Dame football.
Yes, I agree that money is the main driving force in college football. Media exposure is key. Mega-conferences are likely to expand their own conference playoff games in order to generate more viewership & more money. This is not good news for independents.
P.S. I do recognize that Notre Dame football is unique in the respect that it has two substantial constituencies: Alumni & Catholics.
Obviously, other college sports produce revenue. We all watch college sports in person by buying a ticket. I’ve watched many college sports, including football, hockey, baseball, softball, soccer, tennis, basketball, track and field, etc.
There are plenty of butts in the stands (sellouts) and those butts buy hockey sweatshirts like my D did. That is revenue. Are they all self-supporting? No.
Secondly, no one cares about network TV anymore. What’s important is ESPN, Fox Sports and the league networks. They need year round content and the other sports are important too.