NIU says Mountain West hasn’t made formal offer amid conference realignment rumors | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats and Rumors

Northern Illinois says it has yet to receive a “formal offer” to leave the Mid-American Conference for the Mountain West, but “appreciates” the interest in its program.

Action Network’s Brett McMurphy reported Thursday that the Mountain West has informed the MAC of its interest in adding Northern Illinois and Toledo as football-only members ahead of the 2026 season.

“Conference realignment is a very dynamic situation, and NIU appreciates the interest in our strong brand and proven commitment to the success of our student-athletes,” Northern Illinois said in a statement released by the Associated Press. “At this time we have not received a formal offer to consider a change.”

The Mountain West announced Thursday that football-only member Air Force, Nevada, New Mexico, San Jose State, UNLV, Wyoming and Hawaii would remain after five former schools left. conference for the Pac-12.

Starting schools included Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State.

In order to qualify for the NCAA minimum requirements, Mountain West will need eight full members. That will require adding two full members by 2028, the AP noted.

The potential additions of NIU and Toledo would not help the Mountain West meet that standard, so the league’s expansion efforts should continue even if it decides to pursue MAC schools.

ESPN’s Pete Thamel recently reported that the Mountain West could consider Sun Belt program Texas State as one of those additional full members.

The Mid-American Conference currently has 12 members, including NIU and Toledo alongside Akron, Ball State, Bowling Green State, Buffalo, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Miami, Ohio and Western Michigan. UMass Amherst is expected to join the conference in 2025.

The MAC has remained largely unchanged, save for the addition of UMass, amid ongoing seismic shifts in conference alignment, remaining a conference primarily populated by schools located in Ohio and Michigan.

In contrast, the Mountain West’s attempts to recover from the exodus of its former members to the Pac-12 have led the conference to shift toward schools well east of the Rocky Mountain time zone.

It remains to be seen whether Mountain West will make a formal offer to NIU. If Northern Illinois agrees to the trade, college athletic programs could be set up for even more travel in coming years as conferences continue to expand their geographic reach.