Editing Big Eight Conference (section)

===Early membership changes===
In 1908, [[Drake University]] and [[Iowa Agricultural College]] (now Iowa State University) joined the MVIAA, increasing the conferences membership to seven. Iowa, which was a joint member, departed the conference in 1911 to return to sole competition in the Western Conference, but [[Kansas State University]] joined the conference in 1913. Nebraska left in 1918 to play as an independent for two seasons before returning in 1920. In 1919, the [[University of Oklahoma]] and [[Saint Louis University]] applied for membership, but were not approved due to deficient management of their athletic programs.<ref>{{cite news |title=Oklahoma Refused |newspaper=Lawrence Journal-World |location=Lawrence, Kansas |date=May 31, 1919 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ePBiAAAAIBAJ&pg=3169,4233565&dq=missouri-valley+nebraska&hl=en}}</ref> The conference then added [[Grinnell College]] in 1919, with the [[University of Oklahoma]] applying again and being approved in 1920. [[Oklahoma A&M University]] (now Oklahoma State University) joined in 1925, bringing conference membership to ten, an all-time high.<ref>{{cite news |title=Oklahoma Aggies in Valley Group |date=December 6, 1924 |newspaper=Lawrence Journal-World |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=hPFiAAAAIBAJ&pg=7087,5183475&dq=oklahoma+aggies+conference&hl=en}}</ref>