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Northern Illinois issued a statement Wednesday that the university is in talks to join the Mountain West Conference for football.
“Northern Illinois University has received a formal invitation for the football program to join the Mountain West Conference in 2026,” a statement released to the Daily Chronicle on Wednesday said. “We’re proud of the interest in NIU’s strong brand and proven commitment to the success of our student-athletes as we chart the best path forward for NIU.
“At this time, we are actively engaged in evaluating our options to best position NIU and our student-athletes across all sports for future success. We anticipate providing an update to our community in early January.”
A representative of the school said athletic director Sean Frazier would not be available to make further comments.
Multiple reports have surfaced over the past couple of months placing NIU in negotiations with the Mountain West to join as a football-only school.
Tuesday’s statement was the first time the university confirmed the talks. The only previous statement was that no formal offer had been extended and did not address if there had been discussions.
The Huskies went 7-5 this year and will face Fresno State in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl on Dec. 23 in Boise. The Bulldogs are current Mountain West members but are headed with four other current MWC teams to reconstitute the Pac 12 in 2026.
Ahead of the game, coach Thomas Hammock said the focus is on Fresno State and not any possible conference change.
“We have not mentioned one word about it,” Hammock said. “That’s nothing in our control. We talk about controlling what you can control and all we can control is who we play, how we prepare and how we perform.”
NIU would leave the Mid-American Conference as one of its most successful football programs this century. The Huskies have won five MAC titles since 2011, most recently in 2021 under sixth-year head coach Thomas Hammock.
The Huskies also won the 1983 MAC title in their first stint in the league from 1975-1985. They spent the next seven seasons as an independent before joining the Big West from 1993-1995. Future Mountain West rivals San Jose State, UNLV and Nevada were part of the league at the time.