The

Big Eight Conference The Big Eight Conference was a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-affiliated Division I-A college athletic association that sponsored football. It was formed in January 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Associatio ...

is a defunct college athletic conference that was formerly affiliated with the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

's Division I-A (now known as FBS). The

was a successful football conference, with its member schools being recognized as consensus national champion on eleven occasions, including the last two football seasons the conference existed (

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

and

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

). Seven players from the Big Eight won the

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...

, the most prestigious national award for college football players.

Membership timeline

DateFormat = yyyy ImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:30 Period = from:1907 till:1997 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal PlotArea = right:30 left:0 bottom:50 top:5 Colors = id:barcolor id:line value:black id:bg value:white PlotData= width:20 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:m bar:1 color:powderblue from:1947 till:1996 text:

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

(1947–1996) bar:2 color:powderblue from:1908 till:1928 text:

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * ...

(1908–1928) bar:3 color:powderblue from:1918 till:1928 text: Grinnell (1918–1928) bar:4 color:powderblue from:1907 till:1911 text:

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

(1907–1911) bar:5 color:powderblue from:1908 till:1996 text:

Iowa State Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...

(1908–1996) bar:6 color:powderblue from:1907 till:1996 text:

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

(1907–1996) bar:7 color:powderblue from:1913 till:1996 text: Kansas State (1913–1996) bar:8 color:powderblue from:1907 till:1996 text:

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

(1907–1996) bar:9 color:powderblue from:1907 till:1918 bar:9 color:powderblue from:1921 till:1996 text:

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

(1907–1918, 1921–1996) bar:10 color:powderblue from:1919 till:1996 text:

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

(1919–1996) bar:11 color:powderblue from:1925 till:1928 bar:11 color:powderblue from:1958 till:1996 shift:( -250, -5 ) text:

Oklahoma State Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New M ...

(1925–1928, 1958–1996) bar:12 color:powderblue from:1907 till:1928 text: Washington (STL) (1907–1928) ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:10 start:1907 TextData = fontsize:L textcolor:black pos:(370,30) # tabs:(0-center) text:"Big 8 Membership History"

History

The conference was formed in 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MVIAA) by five charter schools: the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Universit ...

University of Nebraska A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

, and

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...

. After the MVIAA grew to ten schools, six state schools split away on their own in 1928, becoming known as the "Big Six":

, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Nebraska and

. The

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Co ...

was added in 1948, and the conference became known as the "Big Seven Conference".

joined in 1958, becoming the eighth and final member. The conference broke up when its members joined the

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its ...

in 1996. Due to its common history with the Missouri Valley Conference, Big Eight championships from 1907 through 1927 are also claimed by the MVC.

Bowl games

The first Big Eight conference team to attend a

bowl game In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivis ...

was

, at the 1924

Los Angeles Christmas Festival The Los Angeles Christmas Festival was a post-season college football bowl game played at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California, on December 25, 1924, between the 1924 USC Trojans football team, USC Trojans and the 1924 Miss ...

. Following the 1938 season

became the second to attend a bowl game, at the fifth-annual

Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935, making it, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, the second-oldest bowl game in th ...

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

. In 1951 and 1952 the conference had a brief ban on its members attending bowl games. When the conference resumed accepting invitations in 1953, its champion regularly thereafter attended the

. This tradition was broken only five times: 1964 (when

faced #2 Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl); 1966 (when Nebraska faced #3 Alabama in the Sugar Bowl); 1973 and 1974 (when undefeated Oklahoma was on probation and barred from bowl games); and 1995 (when #1 Nebraska played in the

Bowl Alliance The Bowl Alliance was an agreement among college football bowl games (specifically the Sugar, Orange, and Fiesta Bowls) for the purpose of trying to match the top two teams in a national championship game and to provide quality bowl game matchups ...

championship vs. #2 Florida at the Fiesta Bowl). At the

1979 Orange Bowl The 1979 Orange Bowl was the 45th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, on Monday, January 1. Part of the 1978–79 bowl game season, it matched the fourth-ranked Oklahoma Sooners and #6 Neb ...

, #6 Nebraska and #4 Oklahoma were paired against each other in a rematch of their conference game earlier in the season.

Rankings

In the

1971 NCAA University Division football season The 1971 NCAA University Division football season saw Coach Bob Devaney's Nebraska Cornhuskers repeat as national champions. Ranked a close second behind Notre Dame in the preseason poll, Nebraska moved up to first place the following week, rema ...

, Big Eight teams finished ranked #1 (Nebraska), #2 (Oklahoma) and #3 (Colorado) in the nation in the

AP Poll The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and broadca ...

– the only time in college football history teams from one conference have held the top three spots in the final poll. In the final

issued before the Big Eight became the Big 12, half of the conference's teams were ranked in the nation's top 10 (#1 Nebraska, #5 Colorado, #7 Kansas State, #9 Kansas).

Rivalries

The

Nebraska–Oklahoma football rivalry The Nebraska–Oklahoma football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team of the University of Nebraska and Oklahoma Sooners football team of the University of Oklahoma. The rivalry continued ...

was one of the most significant in the nation, with national title implications involved during many seasons. The

1971 Nebraska vs. Oklahoma football game The 1971 Nebraska vs. Oklahoma football game was the 51st edition of the rivalry, one of several labeled as a " Game of the Century." The Big Eight Conference matchup was held on Thursday, November 25, 1971, in Norman, Oklahoma. The top-ranked Neb ...

is commonly referred to as "The Game of the Century." With common histories dating back even before the 1907 formation of the conference, many of the Big Eight's rivalries were among the most-played in college football. At the time the Big Eight Conference dissolved in 1996, the conference had the two longest uninterrupted series in Division I-A football: Kansas–Oklahoma (played annually since 1903) and Kansas–Nebraska (played annually since 1906). Many of the conference's series began in the 19th century, including: * Kansas–Missouri, first played in 1891 (second-most played series in Division I-A in 1996) * Nebraska–Kansas, first played in 1892 * Nebraska–Missouri, first played in 1892 * Missouri–Iowa State, first played in 1896 * Nebraska–Iowa State, first played in 1896 * Kansas–Iowa State, first played in 1898 All of the above series except Kansas-Iowa State have been inactive since at least 2012 due to conference realignment.

Champions

Conference champions

Following are the MVIAA/Big Eight football conference champions from 1907 to 1995 (shared championship years are shown in ''italics''): '' ^† Kansas would have won the 1960 title, but after found to be using an ineligible player they were forced to forfeit their victories over Missouri and Colorado, which meant that Missouri was awarded the 1960 Big Eight title.''
'' ^‡

initially won the 1972 title, but after it was found that they used ineligible players, they were penalized by the

, though they did not force OU to forfeit games. The Big Eight asked them to forfeit three games and awarded the title to

, but Oklahoma still claims these wins and this title.''

National championships

Big Eight football teams were recognized as national champion on eleven occasions, including four times as back-to-back champions: * 1950 –

* 1955 –

* 1956 –

* 1970 –

(AP; UPI coaches conducted final poll prior to bowl games and awarded championship to

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

) * 1971 –

* 1974 –

(AP; ineligible for UPI coaches poll championship due to NCAA probation.

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

named champion of coaches poll) * 1975 –

* 1985 –

* 1990 –

(AP; UPI coaches poll championship awarded to Georgia Tech) * 1994 –

* 1995 –

Accolades

The Big Seven Conference established a Coach of the Year award in 1948. The conference began awarding a Player of the Year award in 1967, and began giving separate offensive and defensive awards in 1971. The final awards were given after the 1995 season, after which all of the Big Eight schools entered the

Conference Coach of the Year

* 1948:

Bud Wilkinson Charles Burnham "Bud" Wilkinson (April 23, 1916 – February 9, 1994) was an American football player, coach, broadcaster, and politician. He served as the head football coach at the University of Oklahoma from 1947 to 1963, compiling a record of ...

, Oklahoma * 1949: Bud Wilkinson, Oklahoma† * 1950: Bud Wilkinson, Oklahoma† * 1951: Bud Wilkinson, Oklahoma† * 1952: Bud Wilkinson, Oklahoma† * 1953: Bud Wilkinson, Oklahoma† * 1954: Bud Wilkinson, Oklahoma† * 1955: Bud Wilkinson, Oklahoma† * 1956: Dallas Ward, Colorado * 1957:

Chuck Mather Charles V. Mather (April 17, 1915 – May 20, 2006) was an American football coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Kansas from 1954 until 1957, compiling a record of 11–26–3. Mather was the high school coach of Do ...

, Kansas * 1958:

Dan Devine Daniel John Devine (December 23, 1924 – May 9, 2002) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Arizona State University from 1955 to 1957, the University of Missouri from 1958 to 1970, and the Univers ...

, Missouri * 1959: Clay Stapleton, Iowa State * 1960: Dan Devine, Missouri† * 1961:

Sonny Grandelius Everett John "Sonny" Grandelius (April 16, 1929 – April 25, 2008) was an American football player, coach, announcer, and executive. He served as the head football coach at the University of Colorado at Boulder from 1959 to 1961, compiling a recor ...

, Colorado * 1962: Bob Devaney, Nebraska * 1963: Bob Devaney, Nebraska† * 1964: Bob Devaney, Nebraska† * 1965:

Eddie Crowder Eddie Crowder (August 26, 1931 – September 9, 2008) was an American football player and coach. He was an All-American quarterback (QB) and safety at the University of Oklahoma (OU) in the early 1950s and a successful head coach and athletic dir ...

, Colorado * 1966: Jim Mackenzie, Oklahoma * 1967: Chuck Fairbanks, Oklahoma * 1968: Pepper Rodgers, Kansas & Dan Devine, Missouri† * 1969:

Floyd Gass Floyd Gass (January 31, 1927 – March 3, 2006) was an American football and basketball player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Austin College from 1961 to 1968, having previously been offensive ...

, Oklahoma State * 1970: Bob Devaney, Nebraska† * 1971: Johnny Majors, Iowa State * 1972: Al Onofrio, Missouri * 1973:

Tom Osborne Thomas William Osborne (born February 23, 1937) is a former American football player, coach, college athletics administrator, and politician from Nebraska. He served as head football coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers from 1973 to 1997 (25 season ...

, Nebraska (AP) & Barry Switzer, Oklahoma (?) * 1974: Barry Switzer, Oklahoma† * 1975: Bud Moore, Kansas (AP) & Tom Osborne, Nebraska (?)† * 1976: Earle Bruce, Iowa State (AP) * 1977: Earle Bruce, Iowa State * 1978: Tom Osborne, Nebraska† * 1979: Jimmy Johnson, Oklahoma State * 1980: Tom Osborne, Nebraska (AP)† * 1981:

Don Fambrough Donald Preston Fambrough (October 19, 1922 – September 3, 2011) was an American football player and coach. He served two stints as the head football coach at the University of Kansas, from 1971 to 1974 and 1979 to 1982, compiling a record of 3 ...

, Kansas * 1982:

Jim Dickey James Dickey (March 22, 1934 – February 17, 2018) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Kansas State University from 1978 to 1985, compiling record of 24–54–2. In 1981, he redshirted 18 players, ...

, Kansas State * 1983:

Warren Powers Warren Anthony Powers (February 19, 1941 – November 2, 2021) was an American football player and coach. He was the head coach at Washington State University in 1977, and the University of Missouri from 1978 through 1984, compiling an over ...

, Missouri (AP) & Tom Osborne, Nebraska (Coaches)† * 1984: Mike Gottfried, Kansas * 1985: Bill McCartney, Colorado * 1986: Barry Switzer, Oklahoma† * 1987: Barry Switzer, Oklahoma† * 1988: Tom Osborne, Nebraska† * 1989: Bill McCartney, Colorado† * 1990:

Bill Snyder William D. Snyder (born October 7, 1939) is a retired college football coach and former player. He served as the head football coach at Kansas State University from 1989 to 2005 and again from 2009 to 2018. Snyder initially retired from the p ...

, Kansas State (AP) & Bill McCartney, Colorado (Coaches)† * 1991: Bill Snyder, Kansas State (AP)† &

Glen Mason Glen Orin Mason (born April 9, 1950) is a former American football player and coach. Mason served as the head football coach at Kent State University from 1986 to 1987, the University of Kansas from 1988 to 1996, and the University of Minnesota ...

, Kansas (?) * 1992: Tom Osborne, Nebraska† * 1993: Bill Snyder Kansas State (AP)† & Tom Osborne, Nebraska (Coaches)† * 1994: Tom Osborne, Nebraska† * 1995: Glen Mason, Kansas† ''^† Repeat winner''

Conference Players of the Year

* 1967:

Granville Liggins Granville "Granny" Liggins (born June 2, 1946 in Tulsa, Oklahoma) is a former American football and a Canadian Football League player. College At the University of Oklahoma, Liggins was not only a football player, but also a wrestler. In 1967, ...

, Oklahoma * 1968: Steve Owens, Oklahoma * 1969: Steve Owens, Oklahoma† * 1970: Jerry Murtaugh, Nebraska * 1971: Greg Pruitt, Oklahoma * 1972 Offensive: George Amundson, Iowa State : 1972 Defensive: Rich Glover, Nebraska * 1973 Offensive:

Joe Washington Joe Dan Washington Jr (born September 24, 1953) is a former American football running back in the National Football League (NFL) for the San Diego Chargers, Baltimore Colts, Washington Redskins, and Atlanta Falcons. Early career Washington gradua ...

, Oklahoma : 1973 Defensive:

Lucious Selmon Lucious Selmon (born March 15, 1951) is a collegiate and professional American football nose guard, and football coach. He began his coaching career in 1976 at his alma mater, the University of Oklahoma, and has also coached on professional teams ...

, Oklahoma * 1974 Offensive: Joe Washington, Oklahoma† : 1974 Defensive:

Rod Shoate Roderick Shoate (April 26, 1953 – October 4, 1999) was an American football linebacker in the National Football League. He was a four-time All-Big 8 Conference Player and a three-time All-American at the University of Oklahoma. He played seven ...

, Oklahoma * 1975 Offensive:

Nolan Cromwell Nolan Neil Cromwell (born January 30, 1955) is an American former professional football player who was a safety for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Kansas Jayhawks, where he earned ...

, Kansas : 1975 Defensive:

Lee Roy Selmon Lee Roy Selmon (October 20, 1954 – September 4, 2011) was an American professional football player who was a defensive end for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football as a defensive tackle at ...

, Oklahoma * 1976 Offensive: Terry Miller, Oklahoma State : 1976 Defensive: Clete Pillen, Nebraska * 1977 Offensive: Terry Miller, Oklahoma State† : 1977 Defensive:

George Cumby George Edward Cumby (born July 5, 1956) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker for eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL) during the 1980s. He played college football for the Oklahoma Sooners, thri ...

, Oklahoma * 1978 Offensive: Billy Sims, Oklahoma : 1978 Defensive: John Corker, Oklahoma State * 1979 Offensive: Billy Sims, Oklahoma† : 1979 Defensive: George Cumby, Oklahoma† * 1980 Offensive:

Phil Bradley Philip Poole Bradley (born March 11, 1959), is an American former professional baseball outfielder / designated hitter who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the American League (AL) Seattle Mariners, Baltimore Orioles, and Chicago White S ...

, Missouri : 1980 Defensive: Derrie Nelson, Nebraska * 1981 Offensive:

Dave Rimington David Brian Rimington (born May 22, 1960) is a former American college and professional football player who was a center in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons during the 1980s. Rimington played college football for the Universit ...

, Nebraska : 1981 Defensive: Jeff Gaylord, Missouri * 1982 Offensive:

Mike Rozier Michael T. Rozier (born March 1, 1961) is a former American college and professional football player who was a running back in the United States Football League (USFL) for two seasons and the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons duri ...

, Nebraska : 1982 Defensive:

Rick Bryan Rick may refer to: People *Rick (given name), a list of people with the given name *Alan Rick (born 1976), Brazilian politician, journalist, pastor and television personality *Johannes Rick (1869–1946), Austrian-born Brazilian priest and mycol ...

, Oklahoma * 1983 Offensive: Mike Rozier, Nebraska† : 1983 Defensive: Rick Bryan, Oklahoma† * 1984 Offensive: Danny Bradley, Oklahoma : 1984 Defensive: Leslie O'Neal, Oklahoma State * 1985 Offensive:

Thurman Thomas Thurman Lee Thomas (born May 16, 1966) is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for thirteen seasons, primarily with the Buffalo Bills. He was selected by the Bills in the second round of the ...

, Oklahoma State : 1985 Defensive: Brian Bosworth, Oklahoma * 1986 Offensive: Jamelle Holloway, Oklahoma : 1986 Defensive: Brian Bosworth, Oklahoma† * 1987 Offensive: Thurman Thomas, Oklahoma State† : 1987 Defensive: Danté Jones, Oklahoma * 1988 Offensive: Barry Sanders, Oklahoma State : 1988 Defensive:

Broderick Thomas Broderick Lee Thomas (born February 20, 1967) is a former American football linebacker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Detroit Lions, the Minnesota Vikings, and the Dallas Cowboys. He played col ...

, Nebraska * 1989 Offensive:

Darian Hagan Darian Hagan (born February 1, 1970) is a former American football and Canadian football player, who, from 2005–2022, was an assistant coach of the University of Colorado Buffaloes football team. College career As an option quarterback at Co ...

, Colorado (Tie) : 1989 Offensive:

Gerry Gdowski Gerry Gdowski (born August 9, 1967) is an American former college football quarterback for the University of Nebraska, and later a college football coach. A relative unknown from a national perspective coming into the 1989 season, Gdowski put ...

, Nebraska (Tie) : 1989 Defensive: Alfred Williams, Colorado * 1990 Offensive: Eric Bieniemy, Colorado : 1990 Defensive: Alfred Williams, Colorado† * 1991 Offensive: Tony Sands, Kansas : 1991 Defensive: Joe Bowden, Oklahoma * 1992 Offensive: Calvin Jones, Nebraska : 1992 Defensive:

Deon Figures Deon Juniel Figures (born January 10, 1970) is a former American college and professional football player who was cornerback in the National Football League (NFL) for six seasons. He played college football for the University of Colorado, and ...

, Colorado * 1993 Offensive: Charles Johnson, Colorado : 1993 Defensive:

Trev Alberts Trev Kendall AlbertsJim Offner '' Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier'', February 6, 2013, accessed July 8, 2013. (born August 8, 1970) is an American sports administrator and former football linebacker who is the director of athletics at University o ...

, Nebraska * 1994 Offensive:

Rashaan Salaam Rashaan Iman Salaam (October 8, 1974 – December 5, 2016) was an American college and professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for four seasons during the 1990s. Salaam played college football ...

, Colorado : 1994 Defensive: Ed Stewart, Nebraska * 1995 Offensive:

Tommy Frazier Tommie James Frazier Jr. (born July 16, 1974) is an American former football player and coach who played quarterback for the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Frazier led his team to consecutive national championships in 1994 and 1995, and is ...

, Nebraska : 1995 Defensive: Tim Colston, Kansas State ''^† Repeat winner''

All-time all-conference team

After the final Big Eight season was completed in 1995, a panel of twelve longtime observers selected an all-time conference team:

Heisman Trophy winners

Seven players from the Big Eight won the

, the most prestigious national award for college football players: * 1952:

Billy Vessels Billy Dale Vessels (March 22, 1931 – November 17, 2001) was a gridiron football player. He played college football at the University of Oklahoma and won the Heisman Trophy in 1952. Vessels went on to play professional football with the Nati ...

(HB), Oklahoma * 1969: Steve Owens (FB), Oklahoma * 1972: Johnny Rodgers (WR/RB), Nebraska * 1978: Billy Sims (RB), Oklahoma * 1983:

(RB), Nebraska * 1988: Barry Sanders (RB), Oklahoma State * 1994:

(RB), Colorado

AFCA Coach of the Year

* 1949:

, Oklahoma * 1989: Bill McCartney, Colorado * 1994:

, Nebraska

FWAA (Eddie Robinson) Coach of the Year

* 1971: Bob Devaney, Nebraska * 1989: Bill McCartney, Colorado

References

;General
BigEightSports.com list of football champions
;Specific {{reflist, refs= {{cite news , title=Majors Selected As Coach of Year , newspaper=Lawrence Journal-World , date=November 30, 1971 , accessdate=February 10, 2010 , url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=pCMyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=0uYFAAAAIBAJ&dq=coach-of-the-year%20football%20cyclones%20iowa-state&pg=5265%2C3605511 , page=10 , agency=The Associated Press {{cite news , title=Mac Big 12 Coach of the Year , publisher=CycloneSportsReport.com , agency=CN Staff , date=December 1, 2004 , url=http://iowastate.scout.com/2/325104.html , archivedate=July 16, 2011 , archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716021138/http://iowastate.scout.com/2/325104.html , url-status=dead