The Mountain West Conference will have nine football-playing members for the 2026 season.  Northern Illinois was officially introduced as the latest member of t

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,

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.

The Huskies will go from the MAC to a league in which the easternmost school is in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado (KOLO) - Northern Illinois University will be joining the Mountain West Conference as a football only member in 2026. The announcement was made Tuesday amid a shakeup in the conference, which saw the addition of UTEP and UC Davis to its ranks.

Northern Illinois has accepted an invitation to join the Mountain West for football only in 2026, the school and conference announced Tuesday. The Huskies will go from the Midwest-based MAC to a conference in which the easternmost school is in Colorado Springs,

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