Northern Illinois became the talk of the town when they defeated Notre Dame 16-14 last year and caused an upset. Notre Dame entered this matchup as a 28.5-point favourite and was regularly getting outplayed on both fronts. That defeat became an early-season mindset shift for Marcus Freeman’s boys, while it elevated NIU as someone who must not be underestimated.

And now, the program that stunned Marcus Freeman’s Notre Dame last season is all set to join the Mountain West Conference as a football-only member. Northern Illinois will be joining MW on a deal that approaches north of $38 million when factoring in all the incentives and payouts, with a signing bonus and exit fee coverage. The move will formalize NIU’s G5 realignment in multi-year financial terms that will dwarf MAC distribution. The Huskies’ own release and the league announcement confirmed that NIU will be a football-only participant in the MW from July 1, 2026.

But the entire chatter is about the finances. On3Sports reports that NIU will be earning more than $34 million over the course of 6 years ($5.7 million per year) plus a $1.5 million signing bonus. They will also be getting $2.5 million in exit-fee coverage to depart the MAC. All of this together gets their total financial output to a humongous $38 million-plus package over this initial term.

On the same lines, the documents also talk about the media rights revenue of $2.3-$2.6 million in 2026-2027, which is projected to rise 10% annually. This revenue share starts at 75% of a full MW member in 2026-2027 and grows to 85% from 2027-2031. Moreover, NIU will only be paying 30% of the full member dues, which comes to around $220,000 a year during that span. All in all, if we are looking at the cost-benefit of this deal, everything is in favour of the Huskies.

But the deal is not as sweet as it looks on paper. NIU will owe a $2 million entrance fee to the MW, which will be spread over six annual payments. Also, they will have to raise their football budget to at least $13.5 million by the year 2026 and $15 million by the year 2027. So, basically, MW is ensuring that NIU remains healthy enough for the foreseeable future to carry on its football finances and have a stable stint in the conference.

The big picture is the Huskies’ package sets a baseline for MW media economics and also shows how a premium is posted on football-only realignments. NIU got a platform when they defeated Notre Dame under Marcus Freeman. They came into the national radar, and now, with those small steps, they are at the doorstep of a big realignment, which looks favorable for them for the future. If this realignment is executed as it is written on paper, then MW could go on to become the right conference for NIU. And in today’s world, the right conference can be worth eight figures even before the on-field rewards are cashed in.

Why is NIU leaving the MAC

The reason why Northern Illinois is leaving the MAC for the Mountain West conference is pretty straightforward. It’s because the MW offers much stronger football economics, visibility, and competition. Moreover, with NIL, the transfer portal, CFP expansion, and revenue sharing, the more resources and national reach a team can garner, the better. The MW also targeted NIU because it is a proven brand that can help to stabilize and further elevate the conference, as they expect departures of Boise State and Fresno State to the revamped Pac-12 in 2026.

Competitively, NIU brings exactly the resume that would fit MW’s ambition. They’ve won five MAC titles since 2011, with double-digit bowl appearances since 2008. And like we’ve mentioned a million times until now, their headline upset of No. 5 Notre Dame has had a large footprint on the college football landscape. This move leads to tougher schedules in exchange for better money, much brighter windows, and a lot of attention. For NIU, that’s the main point; they’ll need more eyeballs if they want to elevate their already surging brand to new heights.