Big 8 Conference The Big Eight Conference , a former NCAA - affiliated Division I - A college athletic association that sponsored football , was formed in January 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association ( MVIAA ) by its charter member schools : the University of Kansas , University of Missouri , University of Nebraska , and Washington University in St . Louis . Additionally , the University of Iowa was a joint member of the newly formed MVIAA and the older Western Conference ( now the Big Ten Conference ) . The Big Eight dissolved in 1996 , when its members joined the newly formed Big 12 Conference . The Big Eight ' s headquarters were in Kansas City , Missouri . Although Kansas City wanted to be the home for the headquarters of the new conference , the member schools voted , 7 – 5 , to establish the conference headquarters in Irving , Texas , a suburb of Dallas . ( The four Texas schools plus Colorado , Oklahoma , and Oklahoma State voted for Irving , while Iowa State , Kansas , Kansas State , Missouri , and Nebraska voted for Kansas City . ) History . The conference was founded as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association ( MVIAA ) at a meeting on January 12 , 1907 , by five charter members : the University of Kansas , the University of Missouri , the University of Nebraska , Washington University in St . Louis , and the University of Iowa . Iowa would only participate in the sports of football and outdoor men ' s track and field . In 1908 , Drake University and Iowa Agricultural College ( now Iowa State University ) joined the MVIAA , increasing the conference membership to seven . Iowa departed in 1911 , but Kansas State University joined the conference in 1913 . Nebraska left in 1918 to play two seasons as an independent before returning to the fold . In 1919 , the University of Oklahoma and Saint Louis University applied for membership , but both schools were disapproved due to deficient management of their athletic programs . The conference added Grinnell College in 1919 , with the University of Oklahoma following suit in 1920 . Oklahoma A & M University joined in 1925 , bringing conference membership to ten , an all - time high . Conference split . The year 1928 proved to be a pivotal one as the conference split up . At a meeting in Lincoln , Nebraska , on May 19 , 1928 , six of the seven state schools ( excluding Oklahoma A & M ) organized a separate conference . Iowa State , Kansas , Kansas State , Missouri , Nebraska , and Oklahoma claimed the MVIAA name but thereafter became known informally to fans and the media as the Big Six Conference , while the smaller schools of Drake , Grinnell , and Washington University joined with Oklahoma A & M , becoming known as the Missouri Valley Conference ( MVC ) . The similarity of the two conferences ' official names , as well as the competing claims of the two conferences , led to considerable debate over which conference was the original and which was the spin - off . For the remainder of the Big Eight ' s run , both conferences claimed 1907 as their founding date , as well as the same history through 1927 . Conference membership grew with the addition of the University of Colorado on December 1 , 1947 , from the Mountain States Conference . Later that month , Reaves E . Peters was hired as " Commissioner of Officials and Assistant Secretary " and set up the first conference offices in Kansas City , Missouri . With the addition of Colorado , the conference ' s unofficial name became the Big Seven Conference , coincidentally , the former unofficial name of the MSC . The final membership change happened ten years later , when Oklahoma A & M , now known as Oklahoma State University , rejoined the conference on June 1 , 1957 , and the conference became known as the Big Eight . That same year , Peters ' title was changed to " Executive Secretary " of the conference . He retired in June 1963 and was replaced by Wayne Duke , whose title was later changed to " Commissioner . " In 1964 , the conference legally assumed the name " Big Eight Conference . " In 1968 the conference began a long association with the Orange Bowl , sending its champion annually to play in the prestigious bowl game in Miami , Florida . Big Twelve . The conference remained unchanged until 1996 , when four former members of the now - defunct Southwest Conference – Baylor University , University of Texas , Texas A & M University , and Texas Tech University – joined with the eight member schools to form the Big 12 Conference . Talks of a merger between the two conferences were mentioned as early as 1994 . The original membership of the Big 12 was essentially the old Big Eight plus four Texas schools , but the new conference did not officially claim the Big Eight ' s history as its own . Nonetheless , some college football history sources list both conferences as in continuous operation from 1907 onward . Members . Final members . < / div > Previous members . < / div > Membership timeline . Commissioners . Commissioners of the Big Eight Conference Conference champions . Men ' s basketball . Following are the MVIAA / Big Eight conference championships from 1907 to 1996 . Regular season champions . This includes titles in the MVIAA and the Big 6 and Big 7 conferences , with records in parentheses . MVIAA Big 6 Conference Big 7 Conference Big 8 Conference Tournament champions . All Big Eight men ' s basketball tournaments were held at Kemper Arena in Kansas City , Missouri . Through 1985 , however , the quarterfinal rounds were played on the home courts of the top four seeds in the tournament . Football . Following are the MVIAA / Big Eight conference championships from 1907 to 1995 . " * Kansas would have won the 1960 title , but after found to be using an ineligible player they were forced to forfeit their victories over Missouri and Colorado , which meant that Missouri was awarded the 1960 Big Eight title . " Wrestling . Following are the MVIAA / Big Eight conference championships from 1907 to 1995 . " Oklahoma State did not accept the trophy in 1992 in order to lessen any consequences stemming from an NCAA investigation of improper payments made to its student athletes . They are still listed as champions in the Big Eight record book . NCAA championships won by MVIAA / Big Eight members . " From 1907 to 1996 " Men ' s Basketball . " Oklahoma State won its national titles while a member of the Missouri Valley Conference , when it was known as Oklahoma A & M . Kansas was awarded two Helms Foundation national titles in 1922 and 1923 in the MIVAA . Men ' s Cross Country . " Oklahoma State won its national title while a member of the Missouri Valley Conference , when it was known as Oklahoma A & M . " Before 1983 , the championship was for men ' s skiing . Conference facilities . This is a listing of the conference facilities as of the last year of the conference 1995 - 1996 .