 With the completion of the merger in 1970, the Cleveland Browns were one of three NFL teams that voluntarily moved to the AFL-based American Football Conference to give both conferences an equal number of teams and placed in the AFC Central, the same division as the Bengals.An instant rivalry was born, fueled initially by Paul Brown's rivalry with Art Modell.For their first two seasons, the Bengals played at Nippert Stadium which is the current home of the University of Cincinnati Bearcats.