Senior Wednesday featuring The Story of how K-State Integrated the Big 12 Conference

In the fall of 1949, K-State football players Harold Robinson and Hoyt Givens broke the Big 7 (now Big 12) Conference’s color barrier, competing at and against segregated schools in direct defiance of conference norms. Their courage marked one of the earliest integrations in collegiate athletics.

Led by the university president Milton Eisenhower, who championed the integration of all campus facilities. While it took three years and ten athletes across five sports before another school followed, Kansas State had already set a powerful precedent.

Today, this moment stands as one of the greatest accomplishments in school history. A testament to bold leadership and coming together for a shared purpose in pursuit of equality.

Join us to hear firsthand account from Ken about this pivotal milestone both in collegiate athletics and civil rights history.

About the Speaker
Historian Ken Neaderhiser is a lifelong Kansan and third-generation K-Stater (’95) whose work brings this overlooked story in collegiate history to life. A data analyst and a high school basketball and soccer referee, Ken has a deep passion for sports history and social progress.

His research focuses on recognizing pioneers whose achievements shaped both sports and broader cultural change. S