Perennial FCS power North Dakota State will move up to the FBS this season and join the Mountain West for football, confident that sustained success at the previous two levels can continue behind a hefty new investment in the program.
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.
“One of the concerns was, ‘Will NDSU be competitive?’” interim university president Rick Berg said. “I think we will. Unlike others, we’ve been preparing for this moment for years and years, and I think they’re going to be surprised when NDSU hits the Mountain West.”
NDSU must pay a $5 million reclassification fee to the NCAA for the move and a $12.5 million entry fee to the Mountain West, athletic director Matt Larsen confirmed at a news conference on Monday. Those costs will be privately funded by boosters and donors, Larsen said.
In addition, the program will need more scholarships and staff support and a bigger travel and recruiting budget. NDSU also won't be able to fully access conference or College Football Playoff revenue until 2032 after the current media rights contracts expire. But in a state with no major professional sports franchises, the Bison enjoy robust fan support in the growing Fargo area along the state's eastern border with Minnesota and from a proud network of alumni in the region. The university has about 9,700 undergraduate students this school year.
“There’s going to be an increase, and it’s going to be a significant increase, but we’ll get it to a level where we can compete based on dollars in Fargo, North Dakota,” Larsen said.
The Bison moved all of their athletic teams to Division I in 2004, after winning eight NCAA Division II football titles.
“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.
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 for now. 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.
NDSU will aim to play one team from a Power Four conference, two from the Group of Six conferences, and one from the FCS each season, Larsen said, leaving open the possibility to play at least one team from the current MVFC as the scheduling matrix allows moving forward.
“That's not something we would close the door on. I think we'd be open to playing just about anybody from an FCS perspective,” he said.
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