History of the Arizona Cardinals Devil Stadium. Tragedy struck the team on April 22, 2004 when former safety Pat Tillman, a popular player who was an All-American at Arizona State, was killed in Afghanistan while serving in the United States Army. Tillman left professional football following the 2001 season to serve in the military in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks. Tillman became the first NFL player to lose his life in war since Buffalo Bills offensive tackle Bob Kalsu died in 1970 during the Vietnam War. Tillman's jersey number 40 was retired at the Cardinals' first home game of 2004. In early
Ball State Cardinals known as the "Hoosieroons". A member of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC), Ball State sponsors teams in seven men's and twelve women's NCAA sanctioned sports. The men's volleyball team is a member of the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association. The Ball State Cardinals football team competes in Division I Football Bowl Subdivision and the Mid-American Conference. The current head coach is Mike Neu. The Cardinals play at Scheumann Stadium. On October 5, 2008, Ball State was ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 poll for the first time in team history, and reached a ranking as high as