Northern Illinois appears headed to the Mountain West as a football-only member. The school has officially accepted an invite from the conference and its board of trustees is set to vote on the move on Jan. 7.

According to Brett McMurphy of the Action Network, Northern Illinois will leave the Mid-American Conference and join the Mountain West Conference as a football-only member for the

Northern Illinois’ board of trustees will meet Tuesday to discuss and vote on the acceptance of an invitation to join the Mountain West as a football-only member in 2026.

Northern Illinois will ask its Board of Trustees on Tuesday to allow the school's football program to move into the Mountain West, per a special meeting posted

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 fe

The university has accepted a formal offer to join the Mountain West Conference as a football-only member, effective July 1, 2026, subject to a vote.