Reports: North Dakota State finalizes deal to join Mountain West as football-only member
The Mountain West is adding to its footprint with an established football brand.
North Dakota State, winner of 10 of the last 15 FCS national championships, will make the leap to FBS and join the Mountain West for the upcoming 2026 football season. ESPN was first on Sunday with the confirmation. News had first broken Friday evening that the Bison were in advanced talks to join the conference as a football-only member.
The Bison will give the conference 10 football programs. A source told The Gazette on Saturday that the Mountain West schedule will remain at eight games.
The addition of North Dakota State comes as the Mountain West transitions to a new group of members. Five schools are departing this summer for the Pac-12, while UTEP (as a full member) and Northern Illinois (football only) are set to join a league that will retain Air Force, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, San Jose State, UNLV and Wyoming.
North Dakota State is expected to pay nearly $12 million to join the Mountain West, sources told ESPN, which is in addition to the $5 million it will pay the NCAA to move to the FBS.
A move to FBS comes with a two-year probationary period in which a team is not eligible for the postseason.
Multiple schools have jumped from FCS to FBS in recent years, a group that includes James Madison (Sun Belt Conference, 2022), Jacksonville State and Sam Houston (2023, Conference USA), Kennesaw State (Conference USA, 2024) and Delaware and Missouri State (Conference USA, 2025).
Of those James Madison has had the most instant success, reaching bowl games in three consecutive seasons, including the College Football Playoff in 2025.
None of the schools can match the football track record established by North Dakota State, which most recently won an FCS 2024 championship.
The Bison, based in Fargo, N.D., are 259-52 under their last four coaches, including a 26-3 mark in two seasons under coach Tim Polasek. They play in the Fargodome, which has a capacity of 18,700.
An official announcement of North Dakota State’s move to the Mountain West is expected Monday.