NIU football's move to the Mountain West Conference was inspired by another major college football realignment move, and it might mean more change is coming for Northern Illinois athletics.

The Northern Illinois Huskies' football program is officially joining the Mountain West Conference for the 2026 season. NIU's board of trustees approved the MWC's $2 million membership fee on Tuesday.

The Mountain West is undergoing a major transformation ... and meet FBS requirements, the conference has aggressively restructured, adding NIU, UTEP (all-sports), and converting Hawaii to full ...

NIU administrators are reaching higher, for the Mountains by joining the Mountain West Conference. NIU Vice President and Director of Athletics and Recreation Sean T. Frazier says NIU has to seize ...

With NIU leaving the conference, it’s a good time to start looking around at who could be on the target sheet for expansion.

The Northern Illinois Huskies’ football team will be joining the Mountain ... the Huskies in the conference. “This is a truly exciting day for Northern Illinois University, for the NIU ...

The conference announced on Tuesday that Northern Illinois (NIU) will join the league as a football-only addition on July 1, 2026. NIU comes to the Mountain West from the MAC.

The conference is set to lose Boise State ... 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 evaluating NIU, the MW board of directors and directors ... a prestigious group of universities to compete in the Mountain West Conference.” Northern Illinois is the only team to defeat ...

Northern Illinois will join the Mountain West as a football-only member in 2026, joining Air Force, Hawai'i, UNLV, Nevada, New Mexico, San Jose State and Wyoming.

LARAMIE — After weeks of internal discussions, Northern Illinois University agreed to join the Mountain West Conference as a football-only member Tuesday. Northern Illinois will join eight other ...