Mountain West targeting Northern Illinois, 2 other mid-major schools
09/27/2024 09:32 AM
The world of conference realignment in college athletics continues to shift. The Mountain West Conference is on the hunt to add as many as three new schools, as it looks to survive. The league is hoping to add Northern Illinois and Toledo, per Action Network. Texas State is also a target, per ESPN.
Northern Illinois and Toledo could be football-only members, according to the league’s current plans. If those schools are added, the conference would have a footprint in the Central Time Zone, which could help the league’s media rights revenue. Texas State would be a full member of the Mountain West under the conference’s current strategy.
The Mountain West currently has seven members after the recent shift in realignment.
The Mountain West and Pac-12 fight to survive in college athletics
The Mountain West is in the position to add schools due to major defections. Five schools are heading to the Pac-12, and leaving the Mountain West Conference. Those schools are: Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State. UNLV also looked to leave, but the school is staying after extensive negotiations. Those defections resulted in a lawsuit filed by the Pac-12 against the Mountain West Conference, over fees.
Now, the Mountain West must add additional schools in order to keep going as an FBS member. Under NCAA rules and regulations, a conference can’t be a FBS member unless there are at least eight schools in the conference. As of time of writing, both the Mountain West and Pac-12 don’t have the eight schools needed.
Northern Illinois and Toledo are both members of the MAC conference. Those two schools have won 7 of the last 13 MAC conference titles in football, per Action Network. Texas State is in the Sun Belt Conference, and has been a member of that league for more than a decade.
Time will tell where the chips fall as college athletics continues to see unrelenting change.
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