College Basketball
Robert Morris, Horizon League Will Welcome New Member in 2026
Robert Morris and the rest of the Horizon League will welcome in a 12th member to the conference in 2026. Northern Illinois is scheduled to be the newest member of the league, according to Brett McMurphy of Action Network.
Northern Illinois is currently in last place of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) and holds a conference record of 1-13 while being 5-22 overall. The Huskies are not a “powerhouse” by any means and would actually be the worst team in the Horizon League per many metrics.
The Huskies currently check in at No. 345 in the Kenpom Rankings which is behind struggling Horizon League programs such as Detroit Mercy (No. 336) and Green Bay (No. 334).
Per the release, Northern Illinois will join the Horizon League in all sports except wrestling and gymnastics, which are sports that the league does not support. Additionally, the Huskies’ football program will play in the Mountain West Conference. The Horizon League required the university to pay a total of $1.4 million to enter the league with that coming in six yearly payments of $233,333.33.
RELATED: Robert Morris With Opportunity to Clinch Horizon League Title
“On January 7, 2025, Northern Illinois University accepted an offer to join the Mountain West Conference as a football only member, effective July 1, 2026. Except for football, gymnastics, and wrestling, all other sports teams will compete in the Horizon effective July 1, 2026,” the statement stated. “NIU will remain a full member of the Mid-American Conference until June 30, 2026. The university has applied for gymnastics and wrestling to remain as affiliate members of the MAC. NIU will pay an entrance fee of $1.4M to join the Horizon, payable in six annual installments of $233,333.33.”
The Colonials and Huskies will become conference foes in a few years but looking through the history, the two programs have never previously met on the basketball court.
While the Colonials are surging and the Huskies are struggling this year, in the current era of college basketball, there is no telling what the teams will look like when they meet up in two seasons.
