Could Notre Dame jump from independent to ACC long term?

For what feels like centuries, we have debated perhaps the greatest mystery in the known universe: What would happen if (gasp!) Notre Dame ever joined a conference?

We finally have our answer.

College football did not spin off its axis when the best-known independent football program in the country joined a conference for the first time in school history, an arrangement for the 2020 season necessitated by the pandemic. If anything, the one-year football partnership between the Fighting Irish and the ACC could not have gone more perfectly for both sides.

Notre Dame went undefeated in the regular season; is ranked No. 2 and is well-positioned to play in the College Football Playoff; had its…