The Big Eight Conference is an

athletic conference An athletic conference is a collection of sports teams, playing competitively against each other in a sports league. In many cases conferences are subdivided into smaller divisions, with the best teams competing at successively higher levels. Confe ...

comprising medium-size high schools located in the

Ozarks The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and the extreme southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover a significant port ...

of southwest Missouri. The conference members are based around the Joplin and

Springfield Springfield may refer to: * Springfield (toponym), the place name in general Places and locations Australia * Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast) * Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council) * Springfield, Queenslan ...

areas and are located in the counties of

Barry Barry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name * Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 19 ...

, Barton,

Greene Greene may refer to: Places United States *Greene, Indiana, an unincorporated community *Greene, Iowa, a city *Greene, Maine, a town **Greene (CDP), Maine, in the town of Greene *Greene (town), New York **Greene (village), New York, in the town o ...

Lawrence Lawrence may refer to: Education Colleges and universities * Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States * Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Preparator ...

, McDonald,

Newton Newton most commonly refers to: * Isaac Newton (1642–1726/1727), English scientist * Newton (unit), SI unit of force named after Isaac Newton Newton may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Newton'' (film), a 2017 Indian film * Newton ( ...

Stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

, Taney, Vernon, and

Webster Webster may refer to: People *Webster (surname), including a list of people with the surname *Webster (given name), including a list of people with the given name Places Canada *Webster, Alberta *Webster's Falls, Hamilton, Ontario United State ...

List of member schools

History

1928

The conference was established as the Southwest Activities Association but was known as the Big 10. Founding members were: Aurora, Carthage, Joplin, Lamar, Monett, Mt. Vernon, Neosho, Nevada, Springfield and Webb City.

1953

The Big 10 changed to the Big 9 when Springfield and Joplin left the conference and Cassville was added.

1963

The Big 10 was re-established when Carl Junction was added.

1976

The Big 10 added McDonald County, East Newton, and Seneca to form the Big 13 Conference.

1979

Webb City leaves the conference for two years thus causing the renaming to the Big 12 Conference.

1981

Webb City is reinstated into the conference. The conference is renamed the Big 13 Conference with schools divided into two divisions.

1982

Joplin (Memorial) lured Neosho, Webb City, Carthage, McDonald County, and Nevada to form the Big 6 Conference. The remaining schools formed the Big 8 Conference (Aurora, Carl Junction, Cassville, East Newton, Lamar, Monett, Mt. Vernon, and Seneca). In 1985, Joplin Memorial merges with Joplin Parkwood to form Joplin High School and thus, the Big 6 Conference is renamed the Southwest Conference. Teams are: Joplin, Carthage, McDonald County, Neosho, Nevada, and Webb City.

2013

The Big 8 Conference voted to add McDonald County as its ninth member effective in July 2013.

2015

Carl Junction Leaves Big 8 Conference for the Central Ozarks Conference (Large).

2017

The Central Ozark Conference Small Division merged with the Big 8. Joining schools are: Logan-Rogersville, Springfield Catholic, Reeds Spring, Hollister, Marshfield and Nevada. The Big 8 Conference was shaped into an East and West conference division. The West Division includes: McDonald County, Monett, Nevada, Cassville, East Newton, Seneca, and Lamar The East Division includes: Marshfield, Logan-Rogersville, Aurora, Reeds Spring, Springfield Catholic, Hollister, and Mt. Vernon.

State championships

Aurora Houn' Dawgs

*1964 Boys Track & Field (B) *1965 Boys Indoor Track (M) *1965 Football (M) *1969 Football (2A) *1999 Football (3A) *2017 Baseball (4) *2018 Baseball (4)

Cassville Wildcats

*1984 Girls Track & Field (1A) *2008 Football (3) *2009 Football (3)

East Newton Patriots

*1977 Boys Track & Field (2A) *1998 Volleyball (2A) *2022 Boys Track & Field (3A)

Hollister Tigers

*1999 Boys Basketball (2A)

Lamar Tigers

*2011 Football (2) *2012 Boys Cross Country (2) *2012 Football (2) *2013 Boys Track & Field (2) *2013 Football (2) *2014 Boys Track & Field (2) *2014 Football (2) *2015 Football (2) *2016 Boys Cross Country (2) *2016 Football (2) *2017 Boys Cross Country (2) *2017 Football (2) *2019 Football (2) *2021 Football (2)

Logan-Rogersville Wildcats

*1982 Boys Basketball (3A) *1998 Girls Cross Country (2A) *1999 Girls Cross Country (2A) *2000 Girls Cross Country (2A) *2011 Football (3) *2017 Boys Golf (3) *2018 Volleyball (3)

Marshfield Blue Jays

*1988 Girls Basketball (3A) *1989 Girls Basketball (3A) *1990 Girls Basketball (3A) *1991 Girls Basketball (3A) *1996 Girls Basketball (3A) *1997 Girls Basketball (3A) *1999 Girls Basketball (3A) *1999 Softball (3A)

McDonald County

*1981 Girls Basketball (3A) *1983 Girls Basketball (3A)

Monett Cubs

*1971 Football (2A) *1977 Football (2A) *2008 Wrestling (2) *2016 Football (3) *2017 Softball (3) *2019 Wrestling (2) *2020 Wrestling (2)

Mt. Vernon Mountaineers

*1947 Boys Track (B) *1978 Football (2A) *2002 Girls Golf (1) *2004 Boys Golf (2) *2005 Boys Golf (2) *2010 Girls Basketball (3) *2012 Girls Basketball (3) *2016 Girls Softball (1)

Nevada Tigers

*1935 Boys Golf *1994 Girls Track & Field (3A) *2010 Softball (3)

Reeds Spring

Seneca Indians

*1985 Wrestling (1A/2A) *1987 Football (2A) *1995 Football (3A) *2007 Cheerleading *2008 Cheerleading *2010 Wrestling (1) *2011 Cheerleading *2015 Cheerleading *2016 Cheerleading *2016 Wrestling (1)

Springield Catholic Fighting Irish

*1983 Girls Basketball (1A) *1984 Boys Basketball (1A) *1990 Girls Basketball (2A) *1992 Girls Basketball (2A) *1993 Girls Basketball (2A) *1995 Boys Cross Country (1A-2A) *1997 Baseball (2A) *1997 Football (2A) *2010 Girls Cross Country (2) *2010 Girls Soccer (1) *2011 Girls Soccer (1) *2011 Boys Soccer (1) *2012 Boys Soccer (1) *2014 Baseball (3) *2015 Boys Cross Country (2) *2019 Girls Golf (1)

Neighboring Conferences

Ozark Conference The Ozark Conference is a high school athletic conference represented by 11 schools in the southwest portion of Missouri. As the name implies, all eleven schools are in the Ozarks region of the state and all are among the biggest in the region (on ...

* Central Ozark Conference * SouthWest Central League

References

{{Missouri High School Athletic Conferences Missouri high school athletic conferences Barry County, Missouri Barton County, Missouri Jasper County, Missouri Lawrence County, Missouri Newton County, Missouri Joplin, Missouri