The Mountain West is set to add a new school to its conference if all goes well.
The Mountain West has invited Northern Illinois University to join the conference. The Huskies are set to become a football-only member, so long as the school’s board approves the move.
Northern Illinois, which currently is part of the Mid-American Conference (MAC), would have to pay a $2 million fee to be part of the Mountain West.
The Mountain West has been looking to expand after losing several schools to the Pac-12, which was down to two members after losing 10 schools to other conferences. Schools that have left the Mountain West include Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State. The conference has since replaced them with Hawaii, Grand Canyon, UTEP, UC Davis and now Northern Illinois. Only Hawaii is joining as a full member.
Northern Illinois has been playing football since 1968 and has been with the MAC since 1997. The program had tremendous success from 2010-2014 when they won at least 11 games in every season. They tend to do well each year, but they haven’t been dominant in recent years. Their upset win over Notre Dame earlier this season enhanced their reputation and likely helped their efforts to upgrade conferences.
