Here's how much it will cost North Dakota State to join FBS

In 2023, the NCAA Division I Council considerably raised the entry fee to join the Football Bowl Subdivision, as the top division in college football saw its membership zoom past 130. 

Those elevated costs won't keep perennial FCS national champion North Dakota State out, though. FBS member No. 137 is on the way. 

ESPN's Pete Thamel reported Sunday that the Bison are expected to announce their intent on Monday to join the Mountain West as a football-only member beginning with the 2026 season. The cost? $17 million.

The NCAA increased its entry fee from $5,000 to $5 million, and also beefed up the number of scholarships FBS schools are required to provide. From 2023:

If adopted, all FBS schools would be required to provide 90% of the total number of allowable scholarships over a two-year rolling period across at least 16 sports, including football. Schools also would be required to offer at least 210 scholarships each year, amounting to no less than $6 million in athletics scholarships offered.

The Bison won 10 national championships from 2011-24. Tim Polasek's team upset No. 1-seed Montana State in the 2024 title game and entered the 2025 playoffs as the far-and-away favorite to repeat as champions until a shocking upset by eventual runner-up Illinois State in the second round. 

Late last month, AD Matt Larsen hinted that this move was on the way, saying that the NDSU administration was more interested in ever in an FBS move.

"I would say in terms of our position, I think both myself and President Cook, we want to play at the highest level," Larsen said. "And right now, the highest level is FBS football. And so, I think the things that we've done over the course of the last decade have positioned us to be able to do that. And if there's an opportunity, I think it's something we would absolutely explore. If there's not an opportunity, we're poised to continue competing at FCS at a really, really high level and compete for championships. So, I would say in terms of our position, it hasn't changed at all. And our interest of at least exploring that is as strong as it's ever been.”

The Bison will be expected to compete immediately in a revamped Mountain West, with five schools leaving for the zombie Pac-12. Football membership includes Air Force, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, Northern Illinois, San Jose State, UNLV, UTEP and Wyoming. The conference is expected to remain at eight league games even with the Bison coming aboard as its 10th member. 

Oh, and there's this: