Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association

The Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MVIAA) was a college athletic conference and the second college conference formed upon its foundation on January 12, 1907.[1] The conference was initially formed by an agreement among representatives of five schools, the University of Kansas, University of Missouri, University of Nebraska, University of Iowa, and Washington University in St. Louis. Iowa State College and Drake University, both joined the conference together in March 1907. The University of Iowa, which had only taken part in football, left after the 1908 season and remained a member of the Big Ten Conference, but other schools joined the MVIAA, including Kansas State University, Grinnell College, the University of Oklahoma, and Oklahoma A&M.[1]

Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association
Founded1907
RegionMidwestern United States

In 1928, the conference split apart into two conferences, both of which claimed to be the legitimate heir to the MVIAA's history. Six schools — Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma — reorganized under the MVIAA name. This conference, popularly known as the "Big Six Conference" at the time and later as the Big Seven Conference, would eventually evolve into the Big Eight Conference. Drake, Grinnell, Washington, and Oklahoma A&M formed the Missouri Valley Conference, which retained the same administrative staff as the MVIAA. Until the Big Eight disbanded in 1996, both conferences claimed 1907 as their founding date and the same history through May 1928. To this day, it has never been definitively established which conference was the original.

Members

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Final pre-split members

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Institution Location Founded Joined Left Type Nickname Split to Current Conference
Drake University Des Moines, Iowa 1881 1907 1928 Private Bulldogs Missouri Valley Missouri Valley
Grinnell College Grinnell, Iowa 1846 1918 1928 Private Pioneers Missouri Valley Midwest
(NCAA Division III)
Iowa State College[n 1] Ames, Iowa 1858 1907 1928 Public Cyclones Big Six Big 12
University of Kansas Lawrence, Kansas 1865 1907 1928 Public Jayhawks Big Six Big 12
Kansas State College[n 2] Manhattan, Kansas 1863 1913 1928 Public Wildcats Big Six Big 12
University of Missouri Columbia, Missouri 1839 1907 1928 Public Tigers Big Six SEC
University of Nebraska Lincoln, Nebraska 1869 1907,
1921
1919,
1928
Public Cornhuskers Big Six Big Ten
University of Oklahoma Norman, Oklahoma 1890 1919 1928 Public Sooners Big Six SEC
Oklahoma A&M College[n 3] Stillwater, Oklahoma 1890 1925 1928 Public Aggies/Cowboys[n 4] Missouri Valley Big 12
Washington University in St. Louis St. Louis, Missouri 1853 1907 1928 Private Bears Missouri Valley UAA
(NCAA Division III)
Notes
  1. ^ Currently known as Iowa State University.
  2. ^ Currently known as Kansas State University.
  3. ^ Currently known as Oklahoma State University–Stillwater.
  4. ^ During Oklahoma A&M's tenure in the MVIAA, the nicknames "Aggies" and "Cowboys" were used interchangeably. When the school adopted its current name in 1957, the "Cowboys" nickname was exclusively adopted.

Previous member

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Institution Location Founded Joined Left Type Nickname Left for Current Conference
University of Iowa Iowa City, Iowa 1847 1907 1908 Public Hawkeyes Big Ten Big Ten

Former associate members

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Institution Location
Membership Type Primary Conference Joined Left Nickname
University of Cincinnati[n 1] Cincinnati, Ohio
Basketball Missouri Valley 1908 1909 Bearcats
Notes
  1. ^ After Iowa's departure the Missouri Valley made a brief scheduling alliance with independent Cincinnati

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b David A. Campaigne and John R. Thelin, "Big Twelve Conference", in Andrew R. L. Cayton, Richard Sisson, Chris Zacher, eds., The American Midwest: An Interpretive Encyclopedia (2006), p. 897.