Professional football (gridiron) Louis Cardinals moved to Phoenix, Arizona to become the Arizona Cardinals in 1988, while the Houston Oilers very nearly moved to Jacksonville in 1987 before deciding to stay, for the short term, in Houston. In 1993, the NFL began exploring expansion, eyeing five proposals (Baltimore, St. Louis, Memphis, Charlotte and Jacksonville), all of which were in cities that had hosted professional football before. The "Carolina Cougars" (later renamed Carolina Panthers) and Jacksonville Jaguars received franchises to begin play in 1995. At the same time, Al Davis moved the Raiders back to its original home in Oakland for the 1995 season,
1979 Lamar Cardinals football team 1979 Lamar Cardinals football team The 1979 Lamar Cardinals football team represented Lamar University in the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season as a member of the Southland Conference. The Cardinals played their home games at Cardinal Stadium now named Provost Umphrey Stadium in Beaumont, Texas. Lamar finished the 1979 season with a 6–3–2 overall record and a 3–2 conference record. The 1979 season marked Larry Kennan's first season as Lamar's head football coach. The season also marked higher attendance at Cardinal Stadium. The second and fourth highest attended games were recorded in the season with 17,600 attending the game