Amid the Super Bowl, coaching and player changes, the offseason has now seen a program join the Mountain West. North Dakota State officially revealed that the program was going to join the conference as a football-only member from the start of July this year. CBS Sports reporter Brandon Marcello disclosed the details in a post on X.

Marcello revealed that North Dakota State’s entry into the Mountain West Conference will cost the program around $12.5 million. This will be paid in a fee structure that will be spread over 2032, with the front-load payment coming in the first year. Mountain West Commissioner Gloria Nevarez officially welcomed the Bison with a congratulatory message on the conference’s official website.

“We are thrilled to welcome North Dakota State University’s football program to the Mountain West,” said Gloria Nevarez. “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.”

This will result in the Mountain West having 10 football teams for 2026 and is part of that conference’s rebuild after losing Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State to the Pac-12. The new conference will now consist of North Dakota State, Northern Illinois, UTEP, Air Force, Hawai’i, Nevada, New Mexico, San Jose State, UNLV and Wyoming.

The front-loaded payment is scheduled for July 1, the same day North Dakota State officially joins the Mountain West. The program will pay $7 million upfront, with the remaining $5.5 million distributed in annual installments of $1.1 million over the next five years. The conference has also decided to waiver North Dakota State’s $220,000 annual dues. Each member of the conference pays the same amount, but the Bison will be exempted from paying it through 2031-32.

While the move from FCS to FBS is done, it also comes with its own complications. North Dakota State won’t be eligible for the CFP or the Mountain West conference championship until 2028. The program is also ineligible for a bowl game for two seasons unless there aren’t enough bowl-eligible teams to fill the available slots.

Naturally, a question rises from this deal: why did North Dakota State move to Mountain West?

Why North Dakota State moved to the Mountain West Conference

It actually stems from the fact that North Dakota State have been dominating the FCS. They ended their season with a 12-1 record, and that one loss was due to an upset against Illinois State in the playoffs. The Bison also had an FCS-record 39-game winning streak from 2017 to spring 2021, breaking their previous 33-game record from 2012 to 2014.

Coach Tim Polasek won the 2024 FCS national championship in his first year. The Bison’s past four coaches all won FCS titles, with Polasek joining Matt Entz, Chris Klieman and Craig Bohl.

All of this shows how dominant they had become in their division, and fans were, essentially, getting bored with the low competition. Joining the Mountain West will give the team more challenges, with the hope of improving the team. North Dakota State will remain in the Summit League in other sports.

Coming to the FBS will involve more costs. This means more scholarships and a bigger travel and recruiting budget. “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,” athletic director Matt Larsen said.

With programs like UNLV, New Mexico, and San Diego State in the conference, settling in, let alone dominating, will take time for North Dakota State.