Just over a month removed from announcing their intention to join the Mountain West in football, NIU is reportedly set to make a clean break with the MAC.
[UPDATED at 5:40 p.m. EST to include new developments regarding NIU’s wrestling and gymnastics programs, as well as the reported entrance fee.]
Months after their shocking announcement to leave the Mid-American Conference in pursuit of a football-only membership in the Mountain West Conference, Northern Illinois University is reportedly set on joining the Horizon League in all other sports except wrestling and gymnastics.
The Action Network’s Brett McMurphy was first to report on Monday afternoon via Twitter. The move is expected to be approved by NIU’s Board of Directors on Thursday afternoon. Per Skyler Kisellus of The Northern Star, NIU will have to pay an entrance fee of $1.4 million to join the Horizon League, paid out in six installments, as part of the expected move. Once a member, they will not have to pay annual dues.
The Horizon League, which does not sponsor football, is based in Indianapolis, Indiana and currently has 11 full members, including notable basketball schools such as Oakland University, Robert Morris, Cleveland State, Wright State and Northern Kentucky.
Youngstown State, another full member of the Horizon League, plays football as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference.
The reported move to the Horizon League is a confirmation of NIU athletic director Sean T. Frazier’s initial vision when making the move to the Mountain West.
“Army and Navy have done really well with their model of having the Patriot League as their multisport (conference) and having the American Athletic Conference as their football (conference),” Frazier said Jan. 2025 at NIU’s annoucement presser. “This is not uncommon. It’s a little different, but it really works for the service academies — having a high-level program and having a regional component to make sure you have those regional rivalries, those destinations, those connectivities in the state.”
The move to the Mountain West Conference is set to be effective the start of the 2026 academic calendar. As of publication, it is unknown when their remaining sports will move from the MAC. Per the MAC’s conference guidelines, member programs are required to sponsor football, meaning NIU would have to leave the conference with the new move.
Wrestling and gymnastics are not sponsored by the Horizon League, and will still be looking for a landing spot after the 2025-26 academic calendar. Per Sklyer Kisellus of The Northern Star, NIU will apply to remain in the MAC in both sports as an affiliate member.
Northern Illinois will play one last season in all sports in the 2025-26 academic season in the 13-member configuration of the MAC before their departure.
This is a developing story and will be updated as new information comes in.