FARGO — As North Dakota State waits to hear if they will be postseason-eligible this fall, the Mountain West Conference is poised to send its champion to a new bowl game.
Brett McMurphy from the ON3 website reported over the weekend that the Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego will be returning this winter, which could feature the Mountain West champion against the champion from the new-look PAC-12. McMurphy adds that a bowl game will be played in Puerto Rico for the first time and will match up teams from Group of Six conferences.
“We’re finalizing our 2026 bowl lineup in conjunction with our current partners,” said Mountain West associate commissioner Stuart Buchanan, when reached about the story. “Further details will be announced once the process is complete.”
Last week, Bowl Season, which runs the postseason, outside of the College Football Playoff, announced that they will continue their existing conference-bowl agreements with FBS conferences for this fall. That stems from the CFP announcing that they would keep their field at 12 teams for next season. A new agreement begins for the CFP in 2027, and a decision is needed by Dec. 1, 2026 on how many teams will make up the playoff going forward. There’s been constant debate between going to 16 teams and 24 teams.
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“We believe maintaining stability across the bowl system for 2026 is the most appropriate path forward given the CFP’s decision to extend the current format through this upcoming season,” said Nick Carparelli, Executive Director of Bowl Season. “This approach provides clarity for our stakeholders while preserving flexibility as we collectively evaluate the future of the postseason.”
The Mountain West has been in a holding pattern until this decision was made last week.
“We’re working on a one-year bridge and we’re waiting on the CFP,” Mountain West commissioner Gloria Nevarez told me in February. “Once the CFP deal is done, hopefully we can sign three-to-four year contracts with the bowls going forward.”
The Mountain West’s 2025 bowl selection process had the league champion be eligible for the CFP if it was one of the five highest ranked conference champions. Boise State filled that spot in 2024.
If the league champion is not selected for the CFP, then it would go to the LA Bowl, which Boise did last year. With that bowl now being eliminated, the Poinsettia will take that spot, according to the McMurphy report.
The next highest finishing team would go to the Rate Bowl in Phoenix, Arizona if a slot is open from the Big Ten or Big 12. That scenario arose last December, when Iowa State and Kansas State opted out of bowl games, and New Mexico took that slot, losing to Minnesota.
After those spots, ESPN Events (which owns more than 30 bowl games) would select the remaining eligible teams for the Hawaii Bowl, New Mexico Bowl, the Idaho Potato Bowl and the Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl. Any remaining eligible teams would be selected to the Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl in Tucson.
The Frisco Bowl was played at The Star last December, where Ohio out of the Mid-American Conference beat UNLV, 17-10 in a game televised by ESPN. The Rebels lost in the Mountain West title game and were sent to Frisco.
McMurphy adds that the XBowl Bowl will return in 2026. It was created last year to replace the Bahamas Bowl. Those three bowl games (XBox, Puerto Rico and Poinsettia) will bring the total to 41 for 2026, so 82 teams will be needed for postseason play.
Three bowl games ended last year, the LA Bowl, Detroit and Bahamas.
The Poinsettia Bowl was played from 2005-16 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, the former home of the Chargers. Former NDSU head coach Craig Bohl coached Wyoming in the final Poinsettia Bowl, where the Cowboys lost to BYU, 27-24. Future NFL quarterback Josh Allen threw for 207 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions in the game.
In regards to NDSU,
. In March, the committee introduced a proposal that would allow teams transitioning from FCS to FBS to be immediately eligible for bowl games and conference championship games.
Currently, NDSU would have to wait two years to complete its transition before being eligible for the Mountain West title game and the CFP. A decision is expected on May 7.
Bowl Season will announce the dates, times and networks for the 41 games in early June.
MOUNTAIN WEST BOWL TIE-INS
Poinsettia Bowl (reported) – San Diego
Idaho Potato Bowl – Boise
New Mexico Bowl – Albuquerque
Scooters Coffee Frisco Bowl – Frisco, Texas
Arizona Bowl – Tucson
Hawaii Bowl – Honolulu