Inside North Dakota State football’s membership agreement to join the Mountain West

North Dakota State’s move to the Mountain West is a major financial win for the conference as the Bison will get limited conference revenue over the next six seasons, per its membership agreement, which was obtained by Nevada Sports Net via a public-records request. Additionally, NDSU will pay the MW a $12.5 million entry fee, which is well above the $2 million entry fee owed to the MW by Northern Illinois, which also will join as a football-only affiliate in 2026. Below are details from the NDSU-MW agreement. NDSU is the latest school to join the MW, a list that also includes UC Davis, Northern Illinois, UTEP and Grand Canyon.

* NDSU football will join the MW no later than July 1, making it an affiliate member for the 2026-27 athletic season.

* NDSU’s $12.5 million entry fee to join the MW will be paid with a $7 million installment due on or before July 1. There will then be annual $1.1 million payments over the next five years due on the start of each fiscal year.

* NDSU will not receive any money from the MW’s new linear broadcast deal with CBS, FOX and The CW, which starts July 1 and runs from 2026-32.

* NDSU would be eligible for media-rights money if the MW negotiates its linear deal to create new league revenue before the end of the 2032 term. In that case, the Bison would receive a 75 percent full share in the first year of the new deal with an 85 percent share in remaining years.

* NDSU is eligible for revenue from the upcoming pay-per-view MW App, which will go behind a paywall for the 2026-27 season. Schools can tap into those revenue streams when their fans specify which school they are supporting when subscribing to the app, which will be powered by Kiswe. Additionally, NDSU would get a bonus if none of its football games are exclusive to streaming, including a $200,000 bonus if no games are streaming exclusives and $100,000 bonus if only game is a streaming exclusive.

* NDSU would receive a $1 million bonus for a College Football Playoff appearance with a 50 percent share of CFP and bowl-game revenue. The Bison will receive a full 100 percent share in conference bowl expense reimbursements. Per NCAA rules, NDSU is ineligible to play in a conference championship game, the CFP or a bowl game for its first two years in the FBS (2026-27), although the Bison have filed a petition to waive that clause. NDSU would be eligible for a bowl in 2026-27 if it is bowl eligible and there are not enough bowl teams for bowl slots.

* NDSU will receive a full share of conference championship game revenue, which is between $50,000-$75,000, once it is eligible to play in the game, which is currently 2028 at the soonest, pending its NCAA petition. James Madison’s petition in 2023 to be eligible for its conference championship game was declined by the NCAA.

* NDSU would owe the MW a $4 million buyout if it doesn’t join the league by July 1. That would be due within 30 days of the proposed admission date. Membership in the MW is contingent on the school meeting all FBS requirements associated with its reclassification from the FCS to the FBS.

* NDSU is required to maintain a football budget that is “reasonably comparable” to the league average. If the team falls below a 50 percent winning mark in league games, the Bison will be required to raise its football budget above the MW average. The Bison’s football budget in roughly $7.5 million. Nevada’s football budget in the 2024 season was $14,787,520, almost double that of NDSU.

* NDSU doesn’t have to pay annual conference dues for six years, which are roughly $220,000 per year. Starting in 2032, NDSU will pay 30 percent of those dues as an affiliate member.

* NDSU will get around $400,000 from the MW to pay for installation of required equipment for instant replay, in-game video and coach-to-player communication at the Fargodome.

* NDSU has first right of consideration/application if the MW invites a full member to the league. The Bison’s other sports will remain in the Summit for now. The MW would have no obligation to add NDSU’s other sports if it does add another full member. This language mirrors that in UC Davis’ MW contract, which offered the Aggies first right of consideration/application if the league were to elevate a football program from the FCS. Obviously, NDSU cut the line there.