Northern Illinois University announced Tuesday their intention to leave the Mid-American Conference in the summer of 2026. The football program will join the Mo

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

The university officially announced it would join the Mountain West Conference in a football-only capacity starting in 2026. The move puts the Mountain West Conference at nine teams: NIU, Air Force, Grand Canyon, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, San Jose State, UNLV, UTEP and Wyoming.

NIU has agreed to leave the MAC to join the Mountain West in football only and the NIU Board of Trustees will discuss the move this week. Here's what that move means for the Huskies.

The Mountain West Conference has announced the addition of Northern Illinois in football after the school's board of trustees approved the move on Tuesday. Northern Illinois, which will begin competing in the conference in 2026,

DEKALB (WREX) — Northern Illinois University has accepted an invitation for the Huskies to join the Mountain West Conference as a football only member beginning in 2026, NIU and the Mountain West announced Tuesday. The announcement came following a meeting of the NIU Board of Trustees.

The Northern Illinois Huskies’ football team will be joining the Mountain West Conference, leaving the Mid-American Conference that it had been a member of for nearly 30 years.

Northern Illinois University’s Board of Trustees approved a football-only move from the Mid-American Conference, or MAC, to the Mountain West Conference. Peter Medlin

Northern Illinois confirmed on Tuesday that it is joining the Mountain West in 2026 as a football-only member.

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