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

All of the changes we’re seeing in college football from conference realignments to the transfer portal and NIL has forced Northern Illinois University to make a move to keep up or to stay a step ahead.

The Mountain West added a perennial contender from another conference as a football-only member, giving the league nine teams for the 2026 football season.

NIU football's move to the Mountain West Conference was inspired by another major college football realignment move, and it might mean more change is coming for Northern Illinois athletics.

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.

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 program is officially joining the Mountain West Conference for the 2026 season. NIU's board of trustees approved the MWC

The Huskies will go from the Midwest-based Mid-American Conference to a league in which the ... and the right way,” NIU president Lisa C. Freeman said Tuesday. Mountain West Commissioner Gloria Nevarez said NIU’s “history of football success and ...

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,

Northern Illinois confirmed on Tuesday that it is joining the Mountain West in 2026 as a football-only member. The school hasn't made any decisions on where its other sports will play but remains in discussions with the Mid-American Conference. The ...