I think at the low major/FCS level, conferences still mostly make sense. There isn't giant TV money incentivizing irrational behavior (USC/UCLA/UW/UO joining B1G).
What leeway do private schools have that public schools do not? The biggest NIL schools in football are just the schools with the biggest fanbases or those with some wealthy/desperate donors as far as I'm aware.
They can bury the NCHC with NIL if they want. I don't think they wanna hurt the sport. I think they just wanted their schools to play together. Notre Dame going to the B1G for hockey makes much more sense than UND.
I know you folks are doing a deep dive but hockey is a sport with high variability in results in single games. UND locked horns tonight with another good team so it shouldn't be a surprising that they lost. Pretty even game. It's not like they laid an egg or something.