Bison migrating: North Dakota State joins the Mountain West

The addition of NDSU can be considered quite the coup for the Mountain West. The Bison have long been attracting attention from the FBS, with the Pac-12 and Big 12 in particular sounding out the potential for an affiliation.

A big fish in a small pond, North Dakota remained firm in their commitment to the FCS. But choosing to join a Group of Five (now Six) conference over a Power 4 one is interesting. Not only that, but they’re paying the NCAA $5m to do so, and the Mountain West $10m for the privilege of being a member.

Huge credit must be given to MWC commissioner Gloria Nevarez, who has steered her conference through some choppy waters in recent seasons. Positioning themselves as the premier non-autonomous league in the nation, the Mountain West were the subject of what was essentially a hostile takeover bid from the rebuilding Pac-12.

Despite surviving, the conference did see five of their bigger schools head to their west coast rivals, with Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State all moving on this offseason. That left the Mountain West with seven, and they reacted well to swiftly bring in Northern Illinois and UTEP.

Regardless, the conference took a knock. The American supplanted them as the Group of Five conference to beat. But there never seemed to be too much panic emanating from Las Vegas. It was notable that some schools stayed despite overtures, with UNLV in particular one that could have also been part of the exodus.

North Dakota State’s arrival will take the conference’s membership back up to ten for the 2026 season. It’s telling that they were a program in demand; Fargo is not a big television market, which is often one of the primary reasons for targeting schools. Instead, they bring something different to the table.

The Bison, despite most viewing the FCS as a lower level of competition to the FBS, have a strong brand in college football. Their fans are loyal and travel in numbers, and add to the niche that the Mountain West are creating – this is a conference about the quality of football on display, not how many people are watching it.

Securing NDSU’s affiliation comes hot on the heels of the Mountain West announcing a new media rights package that includes tie-ins with CBS, FOX, The CW Network and Kiswe. It’s been a good week for Nevarez, who is managing to push her conference forward despite the game heading into unfamiliar terrain.