North Dakota State, winner of 10 FCS titles, jumps to FBS to join Mountain West in football

FARGO, N.D. — North Dakota State, the most decorated program in Football Championship Subdivision history, will take its 10 national trophies to the Football Bowl Subdivision this summer, officially accepting an invitation to join the Mountain West for football only beginning with the 2026 season.

The move, announced Monday, ends the Bison’s 18-year run in the Missouri Valley Football Conference and gives the retooled Mountain West an even 10 football members after a wave of realignment that will see Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State depart for the rebuilt Pac-12.

North Dakota State will pay a $5 million NCAA reclassification fee and a $12.5 million entrance fee to the Mountain West, both amounts to be covered entirely by private donations, athletic director Matt Larsen confirmed. The university will also shoulder the cost of additional scholarships, expanded staffing and increased travel and recruiting budgets, even though full conference and College Football Playoff revenue sharing will not reach Fargo until 2032.

“There’s going to be an increase, and it’s going to be a significant increase,” Larsen said, “but we’ll get it to a level where we can compete based on dollars in Fargo, North Dakota.”

The Bison, 12-1 in 2025 and 9-5 all-time against FBS opponents, will play a full eight-game Mountain West schedule this fall but cannot compete in the league title game or the College Football Playoff until 2028. Bowl eligibility will be limited to at-large scenarios if the postseason field is undersubscribed, mirroring the path taken by Delaware and Missouri State last season.

Interim university president Rick Berg framed the jump as the culmination of a decade-long strategic plan.

“Unlike others, we’ve been preparing for this moment for years and years,” Berg said. “I think they’re going to be surprised when NDSU hits the Mountain West.”

Mountain West commissioner Gloria Nevarez welcomed the Bison’s “championship mindset,” noting the program’s consistent success—10 FCS crowns since 2011—and its alignment with the conference’s commitment to academic and athletic excellence.

North Dakota State will remain in the Summit League for other sports, preserving its geographic rivalries while the football program charts a new course. The future of the Dakota Marker Trophy series against South Dakota State, which the Bison lead 12-10, is uncertain, though Larsen left the door open to future FCS matchups, including one against former MVFC foes.

Non-conference scheduling, he added, will target one Power Four opponent, two from the Group of Six and one FCS program annually, ensuring the Bison test themselves across every tier of Division I football.

With no major professional franchises in the state, North Dakota State football commands outsized attention across the Red River Valley. The program’s leap to the FBS is both a financial gamble and a statement of ambition from a campus of 9,700 undergraduates accustomed to winning on Saturdays.

Kickoff against Mountain West competition is four months away, but in Fargo the countdown has already begun.

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