1978 was the last year for the preseason/holiday tournament.
The
Big 8 Holiday Tournament, which was known as the Big 6 Holiday Tournament in its first year, and as the Big 7 Holiday Tournament from 1947-1957 in keeping with the change in the conference name, was an in-season tournament held in Kansas City, Missouri every year between Christmas and the new year. Municipal Auditorium hosted the event through 1973, after which time it moved to Kemper Arena. The tournament had an eight-team field, with full consolation rounds so that each team played three games. From 1958 until the tournament's demise, that field consisted of the eight members of the Big 8 Conference. Prior to that, the eighth place in the field was taken by an invited school; in the tournament's first year, before
Colorado joined the league, two schools were invited. That year was the only year in which one of the invited teams won the tournament, as
Southern Methodist captured the title.
The tournament was a highlight of the season, and immediately preceded the beginning of conference play (the games, for the record, were deemed non-conference games).
It was still a hugely successful draw when the conference made the decision to cancel the event following the 1978 edition. The only reason for its cancellation was a simple one: three years prior, the conference had begun holding a post-season tournament to determine its automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, and the schools felt that having two tournaments with the same invitees each year -- especially at the same site -- was just a bit much. Interestingly, with the departure of several Big 8 schools from the Big 12 in 2011-12, the idea of bringing the tournament back with the classic lineup has been raised.
Neither Colorado nor
Oklahoma State ever captured the Holiday Tournament title.
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