I'll get pelted with empties

but I wonder where ND would be if they had stayed in the Big East. I just can't help but think that their basketball program would be better, football would be more independent, and the other sports would do quite well. I think it would be a better fit culturally (9/10 schools in Big East are Catholic schools), academically ND would be a leader along with Georgetown and Villanova, and they would be more competitive. When the ACC is good, they are really really good and if ND is just okay, they'll still get throttled. I would categorize the Big East as one elite (Villanova) with six or seven competitors (like Creighton and Seton Hall this year...both would have been #2 or #3 seeds). so I'd think ND would have better luck in the Big East. Lastly, ND would not just matter, but likely be quite influential. ND doesn't matter to the ACC, just like they wouldn't have mattered to the Big 10. Lastly, the Big East tourney at MSG in New York is a premier conference championship.

Your take on Georgetown is right on. I'll be interested to watch their future as Ewing coaches them, I'd think they'd bring in some more talent and we'll see if he can develop it.

Ha, I'll actually (social distanced) cheers you on that one!

I've thought about that a lot too, and while I think the $$ of a huge conference sadly won out for the powers that be to play it safe on FB and was a far easier sell for them on the easier integration of the Olympic (? - hope I have the term right and certainly not meant to denigrate) sports vs. sticking with our BE brethren + FB independence, I completely agree with you!
-Fit: You said it best, and other than BC and perhaps Duke/Wake, I am not seeing many ACC schools that are similar to us as small, private schools, and with Clemson/FSU/Miami/VT the only ones that are FB-first.
-Football: I think this would have been for the better, especially as we just saw an ND team that was on the fringe of the playoff (& yes, I our UM loss was pathetic and I won't defend that) couldn't even make a NY6 or whatever they call it due to the ACC rules, while a middling UVA team whom we both beat head to head made a quality bowl. I'm a little more bullish on their overall football potential than others as Clemson has now taken the next step, Miami/FSU are always one coach away, and VT/Pitt/UVA/UNC are decent for depth, but I likewise don't see the fit, hate the 5 vs. 3/4 game requirement since we don't get the bowl benefit anyway, and we likely could have picked up many of them as OOC games.
-MBB: you nailed it!
-WBB: I definitely don't know this as well as the good folks on McGraw's bench here, but this seems like more of a slight step down since Duke isn't a power anymore, and perhaps a wash if UConn had stayed in the BE
-Hockey: We are in the Big 10 anyway, so ACC wouldn't matter
-Lacrosse: Looks like a slight edge to the ACC with Syracuse/Duke/UNC, but Georgetown & Denver are very good programs too
-Everything else: I am guessing an edge to the ACC for sports like track, but really not sure

I'm friends with a lot of Georgetown grads - many from families that would often either have family members attend both schools or have the ND FB/Hoya BBall split - and they are confused as well. For the most part, they miss us in the BE too, and I can't imagine Duke or UNC would feel the same if we left the ACC.

FB bowl options would be zero w/o ACC

It would be playoff or bust.

Maybe that would provide some much-needed motivation *

That's not logical

You have a season where a legitimate bad break in one game drops you down to a tier-three bowl? Try recruiting into that.

Yes, the Orange Bowl setup is screwy, but I'm hoping they'll fix that.