North Dakota State’s long-awaited move to the Football Bowl Subdivision is inching closer to becoming a reality.
The Mountain West is in serious dialogue to add the FCS powerhouse as a football-only member starting this coming season, and a deal could be finalized as soon as this weekend, sources tell Yahoo Sports.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementNorth Dakota State and the Mountain West — in a courtship for more than a year now — are nearing the completion of a more permanent marriage. The move comes at a price for the Bison.
The school is expected to pay a substantial entry fee to join the conference — an offer that is becoming more standard for those schools wanting a promotion in conference affiliation.
For instance, Memphis proposed a $200 million entry fee into the Big 12 last summer, and Sacramento State has offered multiple FBS conferences an eight-figure entry fee. Two years ago, SMU, Cal and Stanford agreed to forgo a portion of conference distribution as an incentive for an ACC invitation.
If a deal is reached with North Dakota State, the Mountain West will have 10 football-playing members for 2026 — two football-only programs in NDSU and Northern Illinois, as well as Air Force, UNLV, Nevada, New Mexico, San Jose State, Wyoming and other new full members Hawaii and UTEP.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementPerhaps the most attractive school at the FCS level, North Dakota State has won 10 of the past 15 national championships. The Bison are juggernauts at that level with facilities and resources on par with many members of the lower reaches of FBS. Since the 2011 season, the program has won 90 percent of its games and 10 conference titles in the Missouri Valley Conference.
In an interview recently, NDSU athletic director Matt Larsen said the school wishes to play at “the highest level” of Division I football and that “if there's an opportunity, I think it's something we would absolutely explore.”
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe opportunity has arrived.
Mountain West presidents recently agreed to grant the school an invitation to the league. However, the price to join — an entrance fee that could jump into the eight figures — has been a subject of negotiation over the last several days.
The school would also owe $5 million in a separate NCAA entry fee. Executives increased that figure three years ago from $5,000 — a whopping jump that is indicative of the desire from many power conference leaders to slow a rapidly growing FBS group that now stands at 136 universities.
Presumably, North Dakota State’s other sports would remain in the Summit League.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe Mountain West-NDSU conversations come on the heels of the league’s announcement of its new media rights package featuring CBS Sports, FOX Sports, The CW Network, and Kiswe. It also comes amid two lawsuits — between the Mountain West and Pac-12, and the Mountain West and the five schools departing for the Pac-12. The MWC is requesting more than $100 million in damages from the legal challenges.
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