big 8

A now-defunct collegiate football conference in the U.S. Formed in 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association, the only charter members to still remain upon its dissolution in 1996 were the Tigers of the University of Missouri, the Cornhuskers of the University of Nebraska, and the Jayhawks of the University of Kansas. Despite numerous changes in membership during its 89-year history, it kept its name (officially) throughout, and in fact still had eight members in 1996 when it dissolved, combining with remnants of the Southwest Conference to form the Big 12. Though the Big 12 was only the Big 8 plus Baylor, University of Texas, Texas A&M, and Texas Tech, the Big 12 did not claim the Big 8's history as its own, thus ending its existence.