NIU and Toledo, long rivals on the football field in the MAC, would be travel partners for the Western-based MWC.
Realignment fever is rampant once again, with the reverberations of the USC/UCLA and Texas/Oklahoma moves in 2022 still sending aftershocks through all levels of college football.
Now, it has its target set on the Mid-American Conference.
Per Brett McMurphy, the Mountain West Conference notified MAC offices on Thursday night about their intention to recruit Northern Illinois University and the University of Toledo as football-only affiliate members.
The Mountain West Conference has been the talk of the non-Autonomous football world after the PAC-12 Conference signed five of their full-time members away last week with exit fees accumulated from two years of departures.
Now armed with a war chest of $90 million from exit fees and a potential additional $55 million “poaching fee”, the Mountain West must pick up two full-time members within two seasons to continue FBS play. (Hawai’i is a member in football only.)
Acquiring NIU and Toledo, two of the MAC’s most successful football programs, would not only instantly boost the newly-formed Mountain West’s profile, but would also grant them the ability to utilize the Central and Eastern time zones for media inventory.
This is important to consider because the Mountain West’s deal with CBS and Fox, signed in 2020, expires in 2026 and terms will likely change with new membership. Currently, schools in the MWC get a $5 million cut per year from their various deals. (The MAC’s deal with ESPN, signed in 2014, gives each school about $800k per year and also expires in 2026.)
Earlier Thursday afternoon, McMurphy also reported the remaining six full members and Hawai’i signed a memorandum of understanding and a new grant of rights expiring in 2032, with a new tiered distribution model in place effective 2026.
Air Force and UNLV, two schools pursued by the PAC-12 and American Athletic Conference for expansion, will each split 24.5 percent of the conference’s “retention bonuses.” Nevada, New Mexico, San Jose State and Wyoming will split 11.5 percent of the bonuses as full members. Hawai’i would get a five-percent cut, as they are a football-only member.
It is extremely unlikely the move will happen due to its affiliation-only status, but as we’ve seen with the other Mountain West members, the conference has shown a willingness to toss money around. There is certainly a possibility if an invitation is extended and accepted, there could be repercussions for each school’s other sports in the MAC.
Hustle Belt is in the process of reaching out for comments from the MAC, NIU and Toledo, and as of publication, there has been no comment. This is a developing story and will be updated as more information comes in.
[UPDATED at 9:48 p.m. Eastern time to include information about the Mountain West’s new grant of rights and memorandum of understanding.]