Editing Big Eight Conference (section)

{{Short description|Former U.S. college athletics conference}}
{{about|the dissolved NCAA Division I-A conference}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox sports league
| name            = Big Eight Conference
| color           = 003300
| font_color      = FFFFFF
| title           = 
| logo            = Big 8 Conference.svg
| logo_size       = 150
| founded         = 1907
| folded          = 1996
| association     = [[National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA]]
| division        = [[NCAA Division I|Division I]]
| teams           = 8 (final), 12 (total)
| sports          = 21<ref name=bigeightsports>{{cite web |title=BigEightSports.com |url=http://bigeightsports.com/ |access-date=August 13, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012165456/http://www.bigeightsports.com/ |archive-date=October 12, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| mens            = 11
| womens          = 10
| region          = [[Midwestern United States]], [[Mountain States]], [[West South Central States]]
| formerly        = Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association (1907–1964)<br />Big Six Conference<br>(1928–1948, ''unofficial'')<br />Big Seven Conference <br>(1948–1957, ''unofficial'')<br />Big Eight Conference<br>(1957–1964, ''unofficial'')
| headquarters    = [[Kansas City, Missouri]], U.S.
| commissioner    = Carl C. James (final) 1980–1996
| map             = Big 8 Map.svg
| map_size        = 250
}}
The '''Big Eight Conference''' was a [[National Collegiate Athletic Association]] (NCAA)-affiliated [[Division I-A]] college athletic association that sponsored [[American football|football]]. It was formed in January 1907 as the '''[[Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association]]''' ('''MVIAA''')<ref name=BorderingOnHatredRivalryWeek>{{cite news |first=Austin |last=Murphy |title=Bordering On Hatred: Rivalry Week will once again deliver must-see matchups, but this year's Kansas-Missouri showdown is like no other: It may very well be the last |date=November 28, 2011 |magazine=Sports Illustrated |url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1192444/index.htm |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130119145825/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1192444/index.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 19, 2013 |access-date=2011-11-25}}</ref> by its charter member schools: the [[University of Kansas]], [[University of Missouri]],<ref name=BorderingOnHatredRivalryWeek/> [[University of Nebraska–Lincoln|University of Nebraska]], and [[Washington University in St. Louis]]. Additionally, the [[University of Iowa]] was an original member of the MVIAA, while maintaining joint membership in the Western Conference (now the [[Big Ten Conference]]).

The conference's membership at its dissolution consisted of the [[University of Nebraska]], [[Iowa State University]], the [[University of Colorado at Boulder]], the [[University of Kansas]], [[Kansas State University]], the [[University of Missouri]], the [[University of Oklahoma]], and [[Oklahoma State University]]. The Big Eight's headquarters were located in [[Kansas City, Missouri]].

In February 1994, all eight members of the Big Eight Conference and four of the members of the [[Southwest Conference]] announced that the 12 schools had reached an agreement to form the [[Big 12 Conference]].<ref>{{cite news |title= Texas Giants Merge With Big 8 |agency= Associated Press |date= February 27, 1994 |url= https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=1zkwAAAAIBAJ&pg=5906,3123357&dq=big+8+southwest+conference&hl=en }}</ref> From a conventional standpoint, the Big 12 was a renamed and expanded Big Eight. But from a legal standpoint, the Big Eight ceased operations in 1996, and its members joined with the four SWC schools ([[University of Texas|Texas]], [[Texas A&M University|Texas A&M]], [[Baylor University|Baylor]], and [[Texas Tech University|Texas Tech]]) to form the Big 12 the following year.