Mountain West Conference Announces Northern Illinois as Football-Only Member

The Mountain West Conference on Tuesday announced the addition of Northern Illinois University as a football-only member beginning July 1, 2026. 

“We are excited about adding Northern Illinois football to the Mountain West,” said Mountain West commissioner Gloria Nevarez 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. NIU shares the Mountain West’s vision of balancing academic performance with athletic competitiveness and prioritizing opportunities for an outstanding student-athlete experience both on and off the playing field.”

The 2026 Mountain West football season will feature the United States Air Force Academy, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, University of Nevada, Reno, University of New Mexico, Northern Illinois University, San José State University, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, University of Texas, El Paso and University of Wyoming.

“This is a truly exciting day for Northern Illinois University, for the NIU football program, and for Huskie fans throughout the country,” said NIU president Lisa C. Freeman. “We are extremely pleased to accept the invitation for the Huskie football program to join a prestigious group of universities to compete in the Mountain West Conference. This move will open new opportunities for our student-athletes, expand the reach, and strengthen the national brand of Huskie Football as they represent NIU and compete for championships the hard way and the right way.”

Located 65 miles due west of Chicago with close to 260,000 living alumni in the nation’s third largest city, Northern Illinois University is a public institution founded in 1895. It is included in the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching’s Research Universities—High Research Activity category and is a member of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. The university and its colleges have institutional membership or other affiliations in or with the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, American Council on Education, Association of State Colleges and Universities, Council of Graduate Schools, and Universities Research Association.