Northern Illinois set to make conference move for Olympic sports, according to documents

Northern Illinois leadership talks NIU football joining the Mountain West

The Huskies are going west. That's the Mountain West to be specific. NIU leadership talked about joining the Mountain West on Tuesday.

After joining the Mountain West Conference in football only, Northern Illinois athletics is set to make another conference move this week.

NIU will recommend Huskies athletics should join the Horizon League this Thursday in a special meeting for the NIU Board of Trustees meeting, according to an agenda for the meeting.

NIU will officially join the Horizon League on July 1, 2026, if the board approves the move.

"The values of the Horizon and its member institutions align with NIU’s," The Board of Trustees agenda reads. "Horizon members and NIU have a firm commitment to the success of student-athletes in the classroom, community, and in competition. There is a strong commitment to collaboration across member institutions to share innovative ideas and promote leadership development. Like NIU, Horizon universities view higher education as vehicle for social and economic mobility and understand that intercollegiate athletics can strengthen community/donor engagement."

According to the agenda, NIU needs trustee approval because costs for the move go over $500,000. Any decisions involving costs that exceed that amount requires approval.

The agenda says there's a $1.4 million fee to join the Horizon League. This is payable in six annual installments of $233,333.33.

The Horizon does not currently have an annual membership fee.

Not all sports will leave the MAC, however. NIU has applied for gymnastics and wrestling to remain as affiliate members of the MAC.

The university was candid about NIU being open to a conference move once they officially joined the Mountain West in January.

"We will be looking for the best regional opportunity for our other sports, and we will have time to do that," NIU president Lisa Freeman said on Jan. 7. "That doesn't mean our other sports won't stay in the MAC."

The Horizon League was one of the options that made the most sense for NIU. Other potential options were the Ohio Valley, which house Eastern Illinois and Western Illinois, and the Missouri Valley, which is the conference home for Bradley, Illinois-Chicago, Illinois State and Southern Illinois.

Illinois universities in the Horizon League

The Huskies are no stranger to the Horizon League. NIU was formerly a member of the conference from 1994 to 1997.

But, NIU will be the first Illinois university to be in the Horizon League since 2022, when UIC was last a member before departing the Horizon for the MVC.

In the past, UIC and Loyola were both members of the Horizon League before departing to join the MVC. DePaul was one of the first members in discussion to create the Horizon League, but did not officially join the league.