Northern Illinois will join the Mountain West as a football-only member in 2026, the school and conference announced Tuesday.
“What a great opportunity for NIU Athletics as we expand our horizons, adapt to this new national model of college athletics and prepare to start a new chapter in the history of NIU Football,” NIU athletic director Sean T. Frazier said in a statement.
In addition to NIU, the Mountain West will include Air Force, Hawai’i, UNLV, Nevada, New Mexico, San Jose State and Wyoming in 2026.
The move is another fallen domino in college sports’ ongoing conference realignment process that caught up to the Mountain West in the fall, when Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State announced they were leaving for the new-look Pac-12, which collapsed in 2023.
“We are excited about adding Northern Illinois football to the Mountain West,” commissioner Gloria Nevarez said in a statement. “In evaluating NIU, the MW Board of Directors and Directors of Athletics carefully considered and were impressed by its history of football success and its commitment to academic excellence.”
It is unclear what conference NIU’s remaining sports will compete in once it moves to the Mountain West for football. The school said it will continue discussions with the Mid-American Conference — where it has participated since 1997 — but will also review opportunities in “several of the regionally based multi-sport conferences.”
The Mountain West also recently announced the additions of Grand Canyon and UC Davis for sports other than football (Grand Canyon does not have football; Davis will remain at the FCS level).
