Northern Illinois said Friday it has not received a “formal offer to consider a change” in its conference, but appreciates the “interest in our strong brand” amid media reports that the school and fellow Mid-American Conference member Toledo are being targeted by the Mountain West.

Five of the Mountain West’s 12 schools have decided to leave for the Pac-12, putting the Group of Five conference in a position where it must add two schools before 2028 to re-qualify for the NCAA’s requirement of having eight full members because Hawaii is only a partial member.

The Mountain West said Thursday that its seven remaining schools have agreed to stay with the conference. They are Air Force, Nevada, New Mexico, San Jose State, UNLV, Wyoming and Hawaii.

The schools leaving the conference for the Pac-12 in 2026 are Utah State, Boise State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Colorado State.

“Conference realignment is a highly dynamic situation, and NIU appreciates the interest in our strong brand and proven commitment to the success of our student athletes,” Northern Illinois said in its statement. “At this time, we have not received a formal offer to consider a change.”

NCAA president decries “dysfunction” in NIL>> The president of the NCAA lashed out at “evidence of dysfunction in today’s NIL environment” while reiterating his desire to see Congress create national guidelines to shape so-called name, image and likeness endorsement deals that are reshaping college sports.

Charlie Baker’s social media posting came Friday, wrapping up a week in which UNLV quarterback Matthew Sluka made headlines by abruptly ending his season. His agent explained that Sluka made the decision after not being paid $100,000 for an NIL deal that was promised by an assistant coach when the QB agreed to transfer to the Rebels last winter.

Baker didn’t reference the Sluka case directly in his post, but it referenced “promises made but not kept.”

“We continue to see evidence of dysfunction in today’s NIL environment, including examples of promises made but not kept to student-athletes,” Baker said.

App State cancels football game against Liberty amid flooding>> Appalachian State’s home football game against Liberty in Boone, North Carolina, scheduled for Saturday was canceled because of the impacts of severe weather on the area from Tropical Storm Helene, the school announced Friday.

Heavy rain in the North Carolina mountains brought flooding to Boone and the town was placed under a state of emergency Thursday. The nonconference game was scheduled for a 3:30 p.m. EDT kickoff and will not be rescheduled, the school said.

Also in North Carolina, the East Tennessee State football team was unable to finish its trip to Charleston, South Carolina, for its game against The Citadel, which was scheduled for Saturday at 2 p.m., because of flash flooding.

Nebraska to become last B1G school to sell alcohol at games>> Nebraska would sell alcohol at Memorial Stadium in 2025 if the university’s Board of Regents gives its approval at its next meeting.

The proposal is listed on the agenda for the October meeting in Kearney next Friday and was first reported by The Omaha World-Herald.

Nebraska would become the last of the 18 Big Ten schools to sell alcohol at football games. Northwestern, Wisconsin, Michigan and Michigan State began alcohol sales at their stadiums this year.