Northern Illinois expected to accept Mountain West invitation as football-only member, calls board meeting

Northern Illinois called a board meeting for Tuesday regarding an invitation to join the Mountain West in July 2026, according to a public meeting report. The expectation is it will accept the Huskies’ invitation as a football-only member.

NIU, currently in the MAC, has been rumored to be a target for the Mountain West as the Group of 5 realignment dominoes began to fall again. The MWC lost five schools – Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State – to the Pac-12 in September 2024, but kept notable brands such as UNLV and Air Force in the fold.

Still, the conference found itself short of the eight-team threshold to be considered an FBS conference. That led to Hawaii coming aboard as a full member after previously competing in the Mountain West only in football. Grand Canyon and UTEP also came on board, giving the MWC nine football members and 10 full-time members. GCU doesn’t offer football as a varsity sport.

NIU’s board will have to approve the $2 million membership fee, which can be paid in six annual installments. The Huskies will have a one-year ramp-up before receiving full revenue, and the increases in revenue will help support the transition, the meeting report said.

“The costs to support the transition to the MWC, including travel, staffing, rebranding, and exit fees will be primarily offset by increased revenues from multimedia rights, revenue distributions, and guarantees from the conference as well as anticipated enhancements in revenue from ticket sales and donations,” the meeting report read.

“After admission to the MWC, a ramp-up period of one year is anticipated before revenues fully reach projected levels. The university does not plan to use existing institutional funds to support the transition.”

As for what could be next for other NIU sports, reports indicated they could leave the MAC. One option could be the Missouri Valley, Yahoo! Sports’ Ross Dellenger previously detailed, as the conference prepares to lose Missouri State to Conference USA.

Northern Illinois completed an 8-5 season in 2024, including the biggest upset in recent memory. The Huskies went in to Notre Dame and defeated the Fighting Irish in Week 2, shocking the college football world. NIU then went on to defeat Fresno State in the bowl game to reach eight wins for the first time since 2021.