February 11, 2026
By Daniel Libit, Sportico: North Dakota State University’s deal to join the Mountain West Conference as a football-only member next season includes a general commitment to maintain a level of football spending “reasonably comparable to” the league average. However, if NDSU struggles on the field, it will have to increase its football expenditures the following season to match or exceed the average of its new Mountain West peers.
That requirement is spelled out in the membership agreement NDSU signed Monday, which will take effect July 1. Sportico obtained a copy of the agreement via a public records request. The move enables NDSU—long dominant at the Football Championship Subdivision level—to move up to the FBS.
The transition includes tens of millions in up-front costs and requires a fundamentally new financial approach for a school that has enjoyed its FCS success on a discount.
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