The Clemson Tigers and Louisville Cardinals have only very recently begun running in the same circles, so to speak, on the gridiron. Louisville’s football history dates to 1912, when the Cardinals began competing as part of the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Association before joining the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association two years later (1914-1941), the same league that also counted the Clemson College Tigers as members for a time (1896-1921). The two programs never met during this era due, however, due in large part to financial difficulties that precluded Louisville from traveling widely beyond the borders of the Bluegrass State, and actually prohibited the institution from fielding a football team between 1917 and 1921.
Historical Eye of the Tiger: Clemson v. Louisville
