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,
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