Northern Illinois Intends Jump to Horizon League for All Non-Football Teams

After NIU's football program left the MAC for the Mountain West, the school's other programs have a new home.

Northern Illinois Huskies guard Jones gets around Akron Zips guard Gray during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025, in Akron, Ohio. | Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Northern Illinois University Huskies plan to shift all non-football programs, including basketball, from the Mid-American Conference to the Horizon League in 2026. The move is pending a vote from the school's Board of Trustees Thursday.

The jump follows the Huskies' football program's move to leave the MAC and join the Mountain West Conference as a football-only member beginning in 2026.

Action Network's Brett McMurphy reported NIU's new home in the Horizon League for non-football sports, which excludes wrestling and gymnastics—both sports which aren't sponsored by the new conference. A report from The Athletic mentioned the school has applied to keep wrestling and gymnastics as affiliate members of the MAC.

Breaking: Northern Illinois’ non-football sports will join Horizon League in 2026 pending NIU board’s approval on Thursday, sources said. Only exceptions are wrestling & gymnastics, not offered by Horizon. NIU also joins Mountain West as a football-only member in 2026

— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) February 24, 2025

NIU will pay an entrance fee of $1.4 million over six annual installments to join the Horizon League, according to The Athletic.

The Huskies' men's basketball team is 5-22 this season and 1-13 in MAC play, currently last in the conference. Their women's basketball squad is 12-14 on the year and 5-9 over the conference schedule.

In the Horizon as soon as next year, NIU will get to play new regional rivals like Detroit Mercy, Cleveland State and UW-Milwaukee.

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