Today in College Football History (Aug. 31): A Conference is Born…& A Conference Dies?

Fifteen years ago today, a conference was born. August 31. Oh, how rich is the irony that today, 15 years to the date the Big 12 Conference officially opened its doors for football, the league is on extinction’s doorstep. The long-awaited departure of Texas A&M now appears imminent, and Oklahoma’s pursuit of a Longhorn Network-esque television deal renders the conference broken up into self-focused city-states instead of one unified nation. The merger between the Big 8 Conference and the remnants of the old Southwest Conference deemed worthy of inclusion kicked off in the Little Apple on this day in 1996. Kansas State hosted Texas Tech. I can’t decide if the first Big 12 game featuring two of the teams likely left scrambling for a new home is ironic or not. Seemingly Texas, the vital cog of the Southwest Conference’s end of the merger, should have played in the opener, right?

Well, it didn’t. But the league’s inauguration began with such promise. There was much fanfare and verve on display in Manhattan, Kan. Both Tech and K-State were ranked in the pre-season top 25 and played a tightly contested affair.

The Wildcats were the victors, their 21-14 win solidifying as the conference’s first-ever standings leader. What happened to the pomp, the pre-game fireworks and the feeling the Big 12 would be a forerunner of the future? It’s individual members have been, but collectively the conference failed to evolve beyond this point.