No conference was ever formed due to academics, but "fit" is something that exists.

ND turned down the Big Ten in 1999, citing among other things, how ND was small, private and Catholic and the Big Ten was made up (except for Northwestern) of large, public, land grant schools.

The Rev. Edward A. Malloy, Notre Dame's president, said the university's institutional identity was the deciding factor in the decision to remain independent.

He said: ''Just as the Universities of Michigan or Wisconsin or Illinois have core identities as the flagship institutions of their states, so Notre Dame has a core identity, and at that core are these characteristics: Catholic, private, independent. As a Catholic university with a national constituency, we believe independence continues to be our best way forward.''

http://www.nytimes.com/1999/02/06/sports...g-ten.html


When moving to the ACC, ND talked about "fit", liking the idea of private schools like Duke, Georgia Tech, Boston College, Miami and Wake Forest and academic schools like Virginia.


"The school's president, the Rev. John I. Jenkins, and athletic director Jack Swarbrick joined ACC commissioner John Swofford and three ACC presidents for a news conference on Wednesday announcing the Irish's move from the Big East.

"I don't think there's out there a better situation than the situation we have," Jenkins said. "The ACC has allowed us to retain a tradition (of football independence) that's so central to our identity in football while we're joining a conference that athletically as well as academically fits Notre Dame perfectly."

http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story/...hockey-acc


"Away from the fields of play, Notre Dame's entrance into the ACC means it will join a league that boasts more highly-ranked institutions in the U.S. News & World Report ratings than any other major athletic conference. Current league members Duke, Virginia, Wake Forest, North Carolina, Boston College, Georgia Tech and Miami stood among the top 50 in the 2013 edition of that widely-respected listing."

http://www.und.com/genrel/070113aac.html

Former ND athletic director and former ACC commissioner Gene Corrigan also said much the same:

"Notre Dame as an institution fits so much better with Virginia and Duke and the A.C.C. schools,” said Gene Corrigan, a former Notre Dame athletic director and a former A.C.C. commissioner. “It will be different than what we’re used to. But everything now is different than what we’re used to.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/13/sports...tball.html