Northern Illinois Board of Trustees to Vote on Mountain West Membership

Northern Illinois has accepted an offer to leave the MAC and join the Mountain West Conference as a football-only member beginning in 2026. Now, the university needs approval from its Board of Trustees.

A move to the Mountain West comes with a $2 million membership fee, to be paid in installments spread across six years. Any university move that requires $500,000 or more requires board approval. The trustees will convene to vote on Tuesday. Northern Illinois has recommended approval for the move.

In the meeting agenda, shared by Bryan Fischer on SI, Northern Illinois says that it expects for the conference change to be more than lucrative enough to offset the membership fee:

"The costs to support the transition to the (Mountain West), 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. 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," it said.

If the vote passes, the Huskies would leave the MAC for the second time. Northern Illinois was a member of the midwestern league from 1973 to '85 and re-joined in 1997 after stints as an independent program and as a football-only member of the Big West (1993 to '95). It will rejoin former conference-mates Nevada, San Jose State and UNLV in the new-look MWC. The league will also feature Air Force, Hawai'i, New Mexico, UTEP and Wyoming.

The Huskies have not yet announced a plan for the rest of their athletic programs. Northern Illinois previously competed in the Mid-Continent Conference (now the Summit League) from 1990 to '94 and the Midwestern Collegiate Conference (now the Horizon League) from '94 to '97 before rejoining the MAC. The school's men's soccer program currently competes in the Missouri Valley Conference.

The Huskies' football program finished the 2024 season at 8–5, highlighted by a stunning road upset of Notre Dame and a 28–20 win over Fresno State in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.