Farewell Flourish: Mizzou Wins Big 12 Tourney in Last Year as Member

March 14th, 2012 - 19:53

Missouri, headed for the SEC as a new member next season, bowed out in style by capturing the Big 12 Conference Tournament championship. The Tigers won their three tourney games by an average of 15.7 points.

The last year teams slammed the door shut on their way out of conferences was in 2005, when four schools achieved the feat. La Salle did it twice in a 10-year span from 1983 to 1992.

Following is a chronological look at league tournament champions in their final season as a member of a non-disbanding alliance before bidding adieu and promptly joining another league:

Year Conference Departing School Title Coach New League
1932 Southern Georgia Vernon Smith Southeastern
1953 Southern Wake Forest Murray Greason Atlantic Coast
1980 Eastern 8 Villanova Rollie Massimino Big East
1982 East Coast St. Joseph's Jim Boyle Atlantic 10
1982 Eastern 8 Pittsburgh Roy Chipman Big East
1982 Trans America Athletic Northeast Louisiana Mike Vining Southland
1983 East Coast La Salle Lefty Ervin Metro Atlantic
1987 Southland Louisiana Tech Tommy Joe Eagles American South
1989 ECAC North Atlantic Siena Mike Deane Metro Atlantic
1991 Atlantic 10 Penn State Bruce Parkhill Big Ten
1991 Metro Florida State Pat Kennedy Atlantic Coast
1991 Southwest Arkansas Nolan Richardson Southeastern
1992 Metro Atlantic Athletic La Salle Speedy Morris Midwestern Collegiate
1994 Mid-Continent Wisconsin-Green Bay Dick Bennett Midwestern Collegiate
1996 Big West San Jose State Stan Morrison Western Athletic
1998 Trans America Athletic College of Charleston John Kresse Southern
1999 Western Athletic Utah Rick Majerus Mountain West
2001 America East Hofstra Jay Wright Colonial Athletic Association
2001 Big Sky Cal State Northridge Bobby Braswell Big West
2005 Atlantic Sun Central Florida Kirk Speraw Conference USA
2005 Big West Utah State Stew Morrill Western Athletic
2005 Conference USA Louisville Rick Pitino Big East
2005 Western Athletic Texas-El Paso Doc Sadler Conference USA
2012 Big 12 Missouri Frank Haith Southeastern

NOTE: South Carolina, coached by Frank McGuire, captured the 1971 ACC Tournament and Southwestern Louisiana, coached by Bobby Paschal, won the 1982 Southland Tournament before they left their leagues to become independents.