Perennial FCS power North Dakota State will move up to the FBS level this season and join the Mountain West for football, the conference and university announced Monday.
North Dakota State, which won 10 of the last 15 championships in the FCS, will give the revamped Mountain West an even 10 members for football starting in 2026. The Bison went 12-1 in 2025, losing 29-28 at home in the second round of the playoffs to eventual runner-up Illinois State. They’re 9-5 all-time against FBS opponents.
“The Bison bring a championship mindset and a bold vision for growth that aligns with the unwavering commitment to the excellence of the Mountain West. Their dedication to elevating the student-athlete experience — on the field, in the classroom, and throughout the community — will energize the Mountain West and help propel our football profile to new heights nationwide,” Mountain West Commissioner Gloria Nevarez said in a statement distributed by the conference.
North Dakota State’s move will take effect on July 1, mirroring the departure Northern Illinois is making for football only from the Mid-American Conference. Texas-El Paso will become a full member for all sports starting with the 2026-27 school year, along with Hawaii, which was already playing football in the Mountain West. UC Davis, which will remain in the FCS, and Grand Canyon, which does not play football, will join the Mountain West for all sports except football.
The holdovers are Air Force, Nevada, New Mexico, San Jose State, UNLV and Wyoming. Departing the Mountain West for the rebuilt Pac-12 starting in 2026-27 are Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State, a move that has pitted the two conferences against each other in court over exit fees.
ESPN, citing unnamed sources, reported on Sunday that NDSU is expected to pay nearly $12 million to the Mountain West and $5 million to the NCAA for the move. The Bison moved all of their athletic teams to Division I in 2004, after winning eight NCAA Division II football titles.
NDSU will immediately play a full eight-game conference schedule but won’t be eligible for the Mountain West title game or the College Football Playoff until the 2028 season. For the next two years, they can only play in a bowl game if there aren’t enough eligible teams to fill all the spots, as Delaware and Missouri State were able to do in 2025.
North Dakota State will remain in the Summit League in other sports. The Bison spent 18 seasons in the Missouri Valley Football Conference, winning 12 titles in the most consistently competitive FCS league. The MVFC sent six of its 10 teams to the FCS playoffs in 2025, including Illinois State, North Dakota, South Dakota, South Dakota State and Youngstown State.
South Dakota State, which won FCS national titles in the 2022 and 2023 seasons, has played North Dakota State for the Dakota Marker Trophy since both programs moved to Division I in 2004. NDSU leads 12-10 in yet another college football trophy series that now has an unclear future. The Bison will play four non-conference games, but even some of the sport’s most hallowed rivalries have vanished when schools wind up in different leagues.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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