LOL. I wasn't suggesting that Notre Dame needs the REVENUE from bowl games, but rather appreciates the PRESTIGE that comes from winning a bowl game or a national championship. They do have an incredible fan base. That fan base likes to watch their team play, and play for the big prize if ND does well enough in a season. It's about bragging rights, not the money (although the $$ is a nice bonus).
The point I was trying to make was that IF the rule were to change to where participation in a 1A CONFERENCE is the ONLY avenue to get INTO a bowl game, then I imagine that some of their supporters might be vocal enough to cause Notre Dame to consider joining a 1A conference, rather than risk losing the bragging rights when trying to recruit students and athletes to their school.
Oh, and I am not a Notre Dame fan. As a kid, (an Irish Catholic kid at that) I worked Pitt games for 4 years as an usher, and I found Notre Dame fans to be obnoxious and developed an aversion to that team nearly 50 years ago that I have not gotten over to this day. ;~))