{"id":737774,"date":"2026-02-08T09:58:25","date_gmt":"2026-02-08T09:58:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/737774\/"},"modified":"2026-02-08T09:58:25","modified_gmt":"2026-02-08T09:58:25","slug":"north-dakota-state-football-in-discussions-to-join-mountain-west","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/737774\/","title":{"rendered":"North Dakota State football in discussions to join Mountain West"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>North Dakota State University\u2019s long\u2011anticipated rise to the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) appears closer than ever, as <a href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/college-football\/breaking-news\/article\/sources-north-dakota-state-in-serious-discussions-to-join-mountain-west-as-football-only-member-025747905.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Yahoo Sports<\/a> reported late Friday that the Mountain West Conference is in advanced negotiations to add the Bison as a football\u2011only member.<\/p>\n<p>A deal could be finalized as soon as this weekend, positioning the move as one of the most significant FCS\u2011to\u2011FBS transitions in recent history.<\/p>\n<p>According to the Yahoo Sports report, the Mountain West has engaged in \u201cserious dialogue\u201d with NDSU following more than a year of exploratory conversations. Conference presidents have reportedly agreed in principle to extend an invitation, pending final negotiations over an entrance fee that could reach eight figures. NDSU would also be responsible for the NCAA\u2019s $5 million FBS transition fee, which was raised in recent years to slow the volume of FCS programs seeking to move up.<\/p>\n<p>If approved, NDSU would join the Mountain West as its second football\u2011only member\u2014alongside Northern Illinois\u2014beginning in 2026, expanding the league\u2019s football lineup to 10 teams. The transition comes amid sweeping realignment across the conference, which is preparing for the departures of Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State, and Utah State to the re\u2011formed Pac\u201112. The Mountain West has also added UTEP as a new member.<\/p>\n<p>North Dakota State\u2019s r\u00e9sum\u00e9 remains among the strongest in FCS history. The Bison have claimed 10 national championships since 2011, won 10 Missouri Valley Football Conference titles, and compiled a 51\u20116 playoff record since 2008\u2014the most postseason victories in subdivision history. The Bison are also 9\u20115 against FBS opponents, with wins over Kansas State, Iowa State, Minnesota, and Iowa.<\/p>\n<p>Athletic director Matt Larsen has reiterated that the program\u2019s goal is to compete \u201cat the highest level\u201d of Division I football, signaling that NDSU would pursue an FBS opportunity if the right one emerged. With Mountain West leadership now aligned on extending an invitation, that opportunity appears imminent.<\/p>\n<p>If the move is finalized, NDSU would enter a two\u2011year reclassification period during which it would be ineligible for the College Football Playoff and bowl games. All other Bison sports would continue competing in the Summit League.<\/p>\n<p>The move would also cause a ripple across the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC), as nearly all of its members have their schedules set for the 2026 season.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/fbschedules.com\/ncaa\/north-dakota-state\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Future North Dakota State Football Schedules<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"North Dakota State University\u2019s long\u2011anticipated rise to the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) appears closer than ever, as Yahoo&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":737775,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[7,49,48,6751],"class_list":{"0":"post-737774","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-football","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-ncaa","10":"tag-ncaa-football","11":"tag-north-dakota-state"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116034424290727439","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/737774","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=737774"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/737774\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/737775"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=737774"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=737774"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=737774"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}