North Dakota State joining Mountain West as football-only member

As the Mountain West looks to reload following several defections to the reformed Pac-12, the conference is turning to the FCS.

According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, North Dakota State has reached an agreement to join the Mountain West as a football-only member beginning with the 2026 season. Per Thamel, the Bison will pay nearly $12 million to join the league, as well as an additional $5 million to make the jump to the FBS level.

Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger first reported that the Mountain West and NDSU were in “serious discussions” last week.

The Mountain West’s addition of North Dakota State marks the conference’s latest move aimed at filling the void left by Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State’s departures to the Pac-12, which will take effect for the 2026 campaign. In addition to the Bison, the MWC previously reached agreements to add Northern Illinois from the Mid-American Conference and UTEP from Conference USA, with NDSU now giving the league 10 football programs moving forward.

While joining the conference — and the FBS level, for that matter — will mark a significant leap in competition for the Bison, North Dakota State’s move to the Mountain West possesses the potential to be one of college football’s most intriguing defections in recent memory. Over the course of the last two decades, the Bison have established themselves as the FCS’ most dominant program. Since 2011, North Dakota State has amassed a 198-22 record while winning 10 of the last 15 nationals and routinely producing NFL Draft prospects, including Seattle Seahawks’ 2025 first-round pick and starting left guard Grey Zabel.

With NDSU making the move to the Mountain West, there will certainly be no shortage of intrigue regarding how the Bison’s success will translate to the FBS. Meanwhile, the FCS finds itself with a sudden void as its most prominent program makes the jump to college football’s highest level.