Western Interstate University Football Association
Encyclopedia
The Western Interstate University Football Association (WIUFA) was one of the first intercollegiate athletic conferences in the United States
, existing from 1892 to 1897.
, Kansas
, Missouri
, and Nebraska
formed the conference and competed against each other annually. Early WIUFA play led to the famous rivalry between Kansas and Missouri, and racial tension surrounding the participation of Iowa's Frank Kinney Holbrook in the 1896 game between Iowa and Missouri ended up preventing what may have become a long-standing rivalry between the two schools.
All four members of the WIUFA would later be among the original members of the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MVIAA), which was formed in 1907. Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska stayed with the MVIAA as it evolved over the decades into the Big Eight Conference
, which existed through the 1995 season. Beginning in 1996, the members of the Big 8 joined with four schools of the former Southwest Conference to form the new Big 12 Conference
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, existing from 1892 to 1897.
Formation, history and evolution
The football teams from the Universities of IowaUniversity of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
, Kansas
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
, Missouri
University of Missouri
The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...
, and Nebraska
University of Nebraska–Lincoln
The University of Nebraska–Lincoln is a public research university located in the city of Lincoln in the U.S. state of Nebraska...
formed the conference and competed against each other annually. Early WIUFA play led to the famous rivalry between Kansas and Missouri, and racial tension surrounding the participation of Iowa's Frank Kinney Holbrook in the 1896 game between Iowa and Missouri ended up preventing what may have become a long-standing rivalry between the two schools.
All four members of the WIUFA would later be among the original members of the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MVIAA), which was formed in 1907. Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska stayed with the MVIAA as it evolved over the decades into the Big Eight Conference
Big Eight Conference
The Big Eight Conference, a former NCAA-affiliated Division I-A college athletic association that sponsored football, was formed in January 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association by its charter member schools: the University of Kansas, University of Missouri, University...
, which existed through the 1995 season. Beginning in 1996, the members of the Big 8 joined with four schools of the former Southwest Conference to form the new Big 12 Conference
Big 12 Conference
The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference of ten schools located in the Central United States, with its headquarters located in Las Colinas, a community in the Dallas, Texas suburb of Irving...
.