Northern Illinois’ board of trustees will meet Tuesday to discuss and vote on the acceptance of an invitation to join the Mountain West as a football-only member in 2026.
People familiar with the situation told The Athletic that while they expect the vote approving the $2 million membership fee to go through, they cautioned that it’s not a done deal until that approval happens. The university has recommended the board approve the move.
The move would see the Huskies’ football team leave the MAC, with the conference landing spot for its other sports still to be determined, and would give the Mountain West 11 total members and nine football-playing members in 2026.
The conference is set to lose Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State to the rebuilding Pac-12 in 2026, but it will add UTEP as an all-sports member, convert Hawaii from a football-only member to a full-time member and add Grand Canyon and UC Davis as full non-football members.
Following the Pac-12 defections in September, the Mountain West worked to keep UNLV and Air Force from leaving, providing them with heavy financial incentives to remain in the league. After they committed to stay, the conference went on the offensive to add to its numbers. FBS rules required the league to get to eight full-football members by 2028 to maintain conference recognition.
The Mountain West’s football members would include Air Force, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, Northern Illinois, San Jose State, UNLV, UTEP and Wyoming.
This would not be the first time NIU has joined a conference out west. The Huskies were part of the Big West from 1993 to ’95 before spending one year as an independent and returning to the MAC in 1997. NIU was also in the MAC from 1975 to ’85. A move to the Mountain West will reunite NIU with Nevada, San Jose State and UNLV from that Big West era.
There is hope within the Mountain West that NIU’s location in the Central time zone could help the league with its next TV deal, which is up in a few years. The league’s football teams would play across four time zones (including Hawaii) with the Huskies in the fold.
NIU has been arguably the top football program in the MAC for the past decade-plus. Its five MAC titles since 2010 lead the league in that span. The Huskies reached the Orange Bowl in 2013 and upset Notre Dame this year, the third time in four years they’ve beaten a Power 4 team.
The MAC is set to add UMass as an all-sports member on July 1, 2025, putting it at 13 members, at least for one year.
(Photo: Loren Orr / Getty Images)
