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College football’s longest active conference title droughts

By Zach Bigalke

Dec 27, 2016; San Diego , CA, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers safety Damarius Travis (7) celebrates in the first quarter against the Washington State Cougars during the 2016 Holiday Bowl at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 27, 2016; San Diego , CA, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers safety Damarius Travis (7) celebrates in the first quarter against the Washington State Cougars during the 2016 Holiday Bowl at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
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Nov 26, 2016; Ames, IA, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers cornerback Maurice Fleming (24) breaks up a pass intended for Iowa State Cyclones wide receiver Allen Lazard (5) as safety Marvin Gross (18) looks on during the third quarter at Jack Trice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 26, 2016; Ames, IA, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers cornerback Maurice Fleming (24) breaks up a pass intended for Iowa State Cyclones wide receiver Allen Lazard (5) as safety Marvin Gross (18) looks on during the third quarter at Jack Trice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports /

Big 12

Longest Drought: Iowa State Cyclones (Last title: 1912)

No FBS school has been suffering without a conference championship longer than Iowa State. They are the only school whose title drought extends for more than a century at this point. The Cyclones won the second of their back-to-back Missouri Valley Conference (the precursor to the Big 6, Big 7 and Big 8) crowns in 1912.

The 1912 title marked the last year of head coach Clyde Williams’ five seasons in Ames. Iowa State lost their season opener against Minnesota. The Cyclones rebounded to rattle off five straight wins before suffering another loss against rival Iowa. Concluding the season with a 23-3 win over Drake, then an MVIAA member, Iowa State ensured that they would end the year atop the league standings.

Related Story: 5 teams that can dethrone Oklahoma in 2017

But they did not finish there alone. In both 1911 and 1912, Iowa State had to share the title with Nebraska. As such, Iowa State has never won an outright conference championship in the 125 years that its football program has existed.

Honorable Mentions

  • Kansas Jayhawks: The Jayhawks, as mentioned in the introduction, were pipped by rival Missouri in the 2007 Big 12 North race. If not for Iowa State they’d easily lead the rest of the Big 12 in terms of the title drought. Kansas last won a championship when they earned the Big 8 title in 1968.
  • Texas Tech Red Raiders: The Red Raiders are the only other Big 12 team besides Iowa State and Kansas that has not won a conference championship in the 21st century. Texas Tech last celebrated a title in 1994, when they won a share of the SWC race. They missed out on a chance to play in the 2008 Big 12 championship game after losing a BCS standings tiebreaker to Oklahoma.
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