The Big Eight Conference
1907-1996



I want to take some time to salute and to make note of the Greatest year any Football conference has ever had.  This year marks the 10^th Anniversary of 1995 Big 8 Conference.  Strangely it would be the very last season of the Big 8 Conference for football before it was changed to what is now the Big XII Conference. But what a last year this great Football Conference had.  In 1995 the Big 8 Conference was the ONLY Conference EVER to have at least 4 teams finish in the Top 9 in the AP Poll and they also finished with 4 teams in the Top 8 in the ESPN/USA Today Poll that year.  Half of the teams in the whole Conference finished in the Top 9 in the country, this will NEVER be done again.   In 2001 the new Big XII Conference again accomplished the feat of placing at least 4 teams in the top 9.   The conference started in 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate athletic Assn.  Later on in 1928 it would be called the Big Six and after the 1947 season it would be called the Big Seven and in 1957 it was then changed to the Big Eight.  Throughout the years 1907-96 the Big 8 Conference produced 11 National Championship Teams for Football.   So far the new Big XII Conference has produced 3 National Championship that being Nebraska in 1997, Oklahoma in 2000 and Texas in 2005.  Since the Big XII started in 1996 a Big XII School has played in 6 National Championship Games.  It could have been 8 National Championship Games as in 1996 Nebraska would have played for the Title and the 3-peat in a rematch against Florida if they hadn’t gotten beat by Texas in the 96 Big XII Championship Game.  In 1998 if Kansas State had not lost to Texas A&M in 2 OT they would have played Tennessee for the National Championship.  

The Big XII is still a very good Football Conference even after placing a team in the National Championship Game 4 of the last 5 seasons and only winning  the Title in the 2005 season.  The Conference will yet again be back to where it once was.  This year the Big XII North may again have an off year but in the South Texas will have the optunity to repeat as National Champions.   Let us not forget what the Great Big 8 had done in 1995.  With the Texas Victory in the Rose Bowl Game the Mighty Big XII Football Conference has now won the National Championship 5 out of the last 6 decades in the years that end in the number “5” including the last 4 decades in a row.   Those Championships include the 1955 Oklahoma,  1975 Oklahoma, 1985 Oklahoma, 1995 Nebraska, and now the 2005 Texas teams.  The 1965 National Champions were Alabama.  Go Big XII in 2006!!!

Below is how the Big Eight finished the 1995 College Football Season

#1 Nebraska              Fiesta Bowl      Beat      Florida           62-24

#5 Colorado              Cotton Bowl     Beat     Oregon           38-6

#7 Kansas State        Holiday Bowl    Beat     Colorado St   54-21

#9 Kansas                 Aloha Bowl       Beat     UCLA           51-30

Not only did All of these Big 8 Schools win their Bowl Game and finish in the Top 9.  Nebraska had captured the National Title for the conference and the 4 teams won by a final combined score of 205 to 81.  Now that’s Impressive!!