Big Eight Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year
| Big Eight Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Description | the most outstanding basketball player in the Big Eight Conference |
| Country | United States |
| First awarded | 1957 |
| Last awarded | 1996 |
| Currently held by | Jacque Vaughn, Kansas |
The Big Eight Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year was an annual basketball award given to the Big Eight Conference's most outstanding player. The award was first given following the 1956–57 season and concluded after the 1995–96 season (the Big Eight disbanded and was re-formed into the present day Big 12 Conference). From 1960 through 1967 no award was given out. Wayman Tisdale of Oklahoma and Danny Manning of Kansas are the only players to have received the award three times. Manning was also the consensus National Player of the Year in 1988. Six other players won the award twice, last performed by Bryant Reeves of Oklahoma State (1993/95).
Missouri claimed the most winners with eight, followed by Kansas, Kansas State and Oklahoma with seven apiece.
Key
| † | Co-Players of the Year |
| * | Awarded a national Player of the Year award: Helms Foundation College Basketball Player of the Year (1904–05 to 1978–79) UPI College Basketball Player of the Year (1954–55 to 1995–96) Naismith College Player of the Year (1968–69 to present) John R. Wooden Award (1976–77 to present) |
| Player (X) | Denotes the number of times the player has been awarded the Big 8 Player of the Year award at that point |
Winners
| Season | Player | School | Position | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956–57 | Gary Thompson | Iowa State | Guard | Senior |
| 1957–58 | Bob Boozer | Kansas State | Forward | Junior |
| 1958–59 | Bob Boozer (2) | Kansas State | Forward | Senior |
| 1960–67 | No Player of the Year selected | |||
| 1967–68 | Donald Smith | Iowa State | Center / Power forward | Senior |
| 1968–69 | Cliff Meely | Colorado | Center | Sophomore |
| 1969–70 | Dave Robisch | Kansas | Center | Junior |
| 1970–71† | Cliff Meely (2) | Colorado | Center | Senior |
| Dave Robisch (2) | Kansas | Center | Senior | |
| 1971–72 | Bud Stallworth | Kansas | Shooting guard | Senior |
| 1972–73 | Lon Kruger | Kansas State | Guard | Junior |
| 1973–74 | Lon Kruger (2) | Kansas State | Guard | Senior |
| 1974–75 | Alvan Adams | Oklahoma | Center | Junior |
| 1975–76 | Willie Smith | Missouri | Point guard / Shooting guard | Senior |
| 1976–77† | Kim Anderson | Missouri | Small forward | Senior |
| Mike Evans | Kansas State | Shooting guard / Point guard | Junior | |
| 1977–78 | Mike Evans (2) | Kansas State | Shooting guard / Point guard | Senior |
| 1978–79 | John McCullough | Oklahoma | Shooting guard / Small forward | Senior |
| 1979–80 | Rolando Blackman | Kansas State | Shooting guard | Junior |
| 1980–81 | Andre Smith | Nebraska | Center | Senior |
| 1981–82 | Ricky Frazier | Missouri | Small forward | Senior |
| 1982–83† | Steve Stipanovich | Missouri | Center | Senior |
| Wayman Tisdale | Oklahoma | Power forward | Freshman | |
| 1983–84 | Wayman Tisdale (2) | Oklahoma | Power forward | Sophomore |
| 1984–85 | Wayman Tisdale (3) | Oklahoma | Power forward | Junior |
| 1985–86 | Danny Manning | Kansas | Power forward | Sophomore |
| 1986–87 | Danny Manning (2) | Kansas | Power forward | Junior |
| 1987–88 | Danny Manning* (3) | Kansas | Power forward | Senior |
| 1988–89 | Stacey King | Oklahoma | Center / Forward | Senior |
| 1989–90 | Doug Smith | Missouri | Forward | Junior |
| 1990–91† | Byron Houston | Oklahoma State | Small forward | Junior |
| Doug Smith (2) | Missouri | Forward | Senior | |
| 1991–92 | Anthony Peeler | Missouri | Shooting guard | Senior |
| 1992–93 | Bryant Reeves | Oklahoma State | Center | Sophomore |
| 1993–94 | Melvin Booker | Missouri | Point guard | Senior |
| 1994–95† | Ryan Minor | Oklahoma | Forward | Junior |
| Bryant Reeves (2) | Oklahoma State | Center | Senior | |
| 1995–96 | Jacque Vaughn | Kansas | Point guard | Junior |
Winners by school
- For clarification of each school's membership history, see the Big Eight membership timeline.
| School (year joined) | Winners | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Missouri (1907) | 8 | 1976, 1977†, 1982, 1983†, 1990, 1991†, 1992, 1994 |
| Kansas (1907) | 7 | 1970, 1971†, 1972, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1996 |
| Kansas State (1913) | 7 | 1958, 1959, 1973, 1974, 1977†, 1978, 1980 |
| Oklahoma (1919) | 7 | 1975, 1979, 1983†, 1984, 1985, 1989, 1995† |
| Oklahoma State (1958) | 3 | 1991†, 1993, 1995† |
| Colorado (1947) | 2 | 1969, 1971† |
| Iowa State (1910) | 2 | 1957, 1968 |
| Nebraska (1921) | 1 | 1981 |
See also
- Big 12 Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year – the successor to the Big Eight Conference and its players of the year (although the Big 12 does not recognize Big Eight Players of the Year as their own)