The Mountain West picked up an 11th football playing school when perennial FCS powerhouse North Dakota State accepted in invitation to join the league for football only starting this coming season.
This comes two months after the Mountain West released a list of opponents for each school, so that’s going to change now.
North Dakota State now has a two-year transitional period where it isn’t automatically bowl eligible when it reaches six wins, but the school is appealing that. Here is what to know.
What happens to UTEP’s schedule
In December the Mountain West announced that UTEP would host Hawai’i, Nevada, San Jose State and Wyoming while traveling to Air Force, New Mexico, Northern Illinois and UNLV. That represents everyone except Nevada.
That could possibly stay that same, or more likely, one of those programs on the schedule could sub out with North Dakota State. The league schedule will remain at eight games so none of UTEP’s non-conference games, which include Oklahoma, Michigan, Oregon State and Texas Southern, are impacted.
Per the Mountain West’s official release, “The MW has begun rebuilding its football opponent matrix to include North Dakota State and the 2026 schedule. These are expected to be announced within the coming weeks.”
Where is North Dakota State?
The school is in Fargo, the most populous city in North Dakota with a population of 125,990. The Bison play in the indoor Fargodome, which has a capacity of 18,700. Every airline except Southwest that flies out of El Paso International Airport flies into Fargo’s Hector International Airport.
What conference is North Dakota State in for other sports?
All of North Dakota State’s other sports, except wrestling, compete in the Summit League. The wrestling team competes in the Big 12.
When is North Dakota State bowl eligible
Per NCAA rules, the Bison are considered a transitional FBS program for the next two years, though if they do get to six wins they can fill untaken bowl spots (that happened this year with Delaware).
North Dakota State also has indicated it is going to appeal the rule, asking for a waiver for 2026 and for the NCAA to repeal the rule. The Mountain West supports North Dakota State on this.
Per CBS Sports, which interviewed athletic director Matt Larsen, North Dakota State intends to argue that the bylaw is outdated, crafted before the transfer portal allowed programs to rapidly upgrade rosters and accelerate competitive timelines.
What is the Bison football tradition?
North Dakota State has won 10 FCS national championships, all since 2011 when it began a string of eight national titles in nine years. They also won championships in 2021 and ’24.
In 2025 North Dakota State had a perfect 12-0 regular season and was the No. 1 seed in the playoffs, but was upset in the first round by an Illinois State team that went on to lose in the title game.
North Dakota State has also won five Division II championships from 1983 to 1990. The Bison began the move to the FCS in 2003. In 2019 they went 16-0, the first Division I team to do that since Yale in 1894.
The most famous player they’ve produced is quarterback Carson Wentz, the second overall pick in the 2016 draft.
Bret Bloomquist can be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: What does Mountain West addition of North Dakota State mean for UTEP?
Reporting by Bret Bloomquist, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
