Will the North Dakota State University Bison Football team be heading to the FBS? According to a report by Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger, it may be closer than ever.
In Dellenger’s report, he states that the deal would be for Bison Football to join the Mountain West Conference beginning this fall of 2026 as a football only member. He also added that the deal could be done as early as this weekend as both sides are having “serious dialogue”.
If NDSU were to move up to the FBS and Mountain West Conference there would be a current undetermined entry fee. It would also cause NDSU to have to make adjustments to their postseason eligibility, football scholarships, exit fee from the Missouri Valley Football Conference, among other requirements.
The Mountain West Football Conference currently has nine members including Air Force, Hawaii, New Mexico, Nevada, Northern Illinois, San Jose State, UNLV, UTEP, and Wyoming. If the Bison were to join the league, they would be the 10th football member in the Mountain West. NDSU and Northern Illinois would both be football only with the other eight teams in the conference being full members.
Over the past two decades NDSU has been a powerhouse dynasty in the FCS having won 10 National Championships since becoming eligible for the FCS playoffs 16 years ago. The Bison have also secured 10 conference title in the MVFC over that time.
The reports added that NDSU and the Mountain West have been in talks for more than a year about a possible invite into the conference.
