Northern Illinois: No formal offer from the Mountain West

Northern Illinois said Friday it had not received a “formal offer to consider a change in its conference” but appreciated the “interest in our strong brand” amid media reports that the school and its fellow member of the Mid- American Conference, Toledo, the Mountain's sights are West.

Five of the 12 Mountain West schools have decided to join the Pac-12, enabling the Group of 5 conference to add two schools before 2028 to meet the NCAA's requirement to have eight full members, Since Hawaii only has eight full members, one partial member.

The Mountain West said Thursday that its seven remaining schools had agreed to join the conference. These are Air Force, Nevada, New Mexico, San Jose State, UNLV, Wyoming and Hawaii.

The schools leaving the conference for the Pac-12 in 2026 are Utah State, Boise State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Colorado State.

“Conference realignment is an extremely dynamic situation, and NIU appreciates the interest in our strong brand and proven commitment to the success of our student-athletes,” Northern Illinois said in its statement. “At this point we have not received a formal offer to consider a change.”