There have been references to ND having to put their football in the ACC if they were to join a conference. Others about Uconn "parking" their football somewhere so they could join a BB conference.

My understanding is the NCAA has a rule that, if your primary conference sponsors a sport, your choices are in the conference or independent. For example, ND could not move it's basketball to the nBE but they could move to independent.

Is this an NCAA rule or, in Notre Dame's case, a contract requirement? It seems like an important distinction. Contracts require negotiation and probably some form of compensation. While the NCAA generally moves at a glacial pace, rules can change.