Professional football (gridiron) oldest existing professional football club is the Arizona Cardinals, a current member of the National Football League. The Cardinals organization, which was originally based on Racine Street in Chicago, has operated near-continuously since 1913, but counts an earlier team that played from 1898 to 1906 as part of its history. The Watertown Red & Black is the oldest semi-professional club, tracing its history to 1896. While the practice of professional and semi-pro teams playing college and amateur teams was common in the 1890s, the Amateur Athletic Union began pressuring and threatening college teams with the loss of amateur status if
2012 Louisville Cardinals football team game. They were invited to the Sugar Bowl where they defeated Florida. The Cardinals finished the 2011 season 7–6, and a 5–2 record in Big East play gave them a share of the conference championship with Cincinnati and West Virginia. Due to tiebreaking procedures, the Cardinals did not receive the Big East's automatic bid into a BCS bowl (West Virginia received the bid). The Cardinals were instead invited to the Belk Bowl where they were defeated by North Carolina State 24–31. 2012 Louisville Cardinals football team The 2012 Louisville Cardinals football team represented the University of Louisville in the 2012