North Dakota left the non-football side of the Big Sky to join the Summit League, home to many of its traditional rivals, in 2018. The school's football team will join the Missouri Valley Football Conference in 2020. It played the 2018 season as an FCS independent (not in a conference), and will do so again in 2019. However, North Dakota still plays a full Big Sky football schedule, and games against North Dakota count in the Big Sky standings for other conference members.