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Athletic teams of the University of Pittsburgh

The Pittsburgh Panthers, commonly also referred to as the Pitt Panthers, are the athletic teams representing the University of Pittsburgh, although the term is colloquially used to refer to other aspects of the university such as alumni, faculty, and students. Pitt fields 19 university sponsored varsity teams at the highest level of competitive collegiate athletics in the United States: the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) for American football. Varsity men's sports sponsored by the university are baseball, basketball, cross country, football, soccer, swimming and diving, indoor track and field, outdoor track and field, and wrestling; while sponsored women's varsity sports include basketball, cross country, gymnastics, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, indoor track and field, outdoor track and field, and volleyball. Pitt will sponsor varsity women's lacrosse beginning with the 2021–22 season. All varsity sports teams compete as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). The university's athletic program is one of only five current NCAA Division I FBS schools to have won multiple national championships in both football (9) and basketball (2), and the Panthers have been ranked as having among the best combinations of football and basketball programs by multiple publications. Other sports have won a variety of conference titles, regularly compete in NCAA championship events, and have produced a plethora of professional and Olympic athletes.

The University of Pittsburgh Department of Athletics administers the 19 men's and women's varsity sports teams, as well as the spirit groups such as the Pitt Band and Pitt Cheerleaders. The Athletic Department also provides student athlete academic support, the Panther Game Plan student athlete life skills program, athletic training, marketing, development, media relations, and other support and administrative services and divisions.

The university's athletic program is one of only five current NCAA Division 1A schools to have won multiple national championships in both football (9) and basketball (2), and the Panthers have been ranked as having among the best combinations of football and basketball programs by multiple publications. Pitt was ranked as having the fifth best combination of football and basketball programs in CBSSports. com's Flourishing Five ranking in 2010. In its "Hoops & Helmets" list of the best combinations, CollegeFootballNews. com ranked Pitt ninth in 2011, fifth in 2010, third in 2009, 30th in 2007, 26th in 2006, 12th in 2005, fourth in 2004, and third in 2003. Pitt was also ranked 19th for the best combined football and basketball programs during the BCS era and among the top 25 between 1974 and 2008 by Rivals. com. In addition, ESPN. com used the Sagarin mathematical system to rate universities based on the strength of their performance in football and men's basketball for five years through 2006 and found Pitt was tied for 10th as one of the nation's top two sport schools. Further, in a 2006 all sports ranking done by Sports Illustrated on Campus, Pitt was ranked 17th among all of the country's universities in terms of the overall strength of its athletic program. In 2022 2023, Pitt's athletic department tied for 13th in CBS Sports' Best in College Sports ranking.

Pitt announced that it will field a varsity women's lacrosse team beginning with the 2021–22 season.

Each year the university honors student athletes who have achieved academic success during the University of Pittsburgh Scholar Athlete Awards Breakfast where it hands out Blue and Gold awards to student athletes who have earned over a 3.0 GPA. The 2012 calendar year, Pitt's last competing in the Big East Conference, out of approximately 450 Pitt athletes, 350 achieved a GPA of 3.0 or above, with 16 earning a perfect 4.0. In addition, 148 student athletes were named as Big East Academic All Stars and 26 members of the football team were named to the all academic Big East football team. This does not include 15 additional athletes from the wrestling and gymnastics teams that compete in other conferences. In 2010, volleyball standout Meagan Dooley was named the Big East Female Scholar Athlete of the Year, the university's seventh male or female Big East scholar athlete of the year winner since the award was instituted in 1985. Dooley was also awarded one of 87 NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships for women in 2010.

The history rich University of Pittsburgh Varsity Marching Band was founded in 1911 and performs at sports and other events, including at every home football game and select away football games. Its constituent group, the Pitt Pep Band, performs at all home basketball games and at post season away games. The Pitt Band's drumline, known as The Crew, also performs at football games and occasionally at select basketball games. The Band also oversees the Golden Girls majorette group. The Pitt Band is directed by Dr. Brad Townsend.

The university Athletic Department has an official booster club, the Panther Club, which is directly active in raising money for the athletic department from alumni, boosters, and fans. It also oversees the Varsity Letter Club, a booster club specifically for former Pitt student athletes. The Panther Club was previously known as Team Pittsburgh, and prior to 1997, was known as the Golden Panthers. Although independent of the Athletic Department, the Pitt Alumni Association often coordinates with the Athletic Department and Panther Club in hosting events corresponding with both home and away athletic events.

Founded in 1981 and then reestablished in 1990 as a member of the Allegheny Rugby Union, the University of Pittsburgh Rugby Football Club played college rugby in Division 2 thru 2012, winning the Midwest Territory and advancing to the National Final 8 in 2003–04. They were promoted to Division 1 AA in 2013 and joined the newly formed Keystone Conference. In their inaugural season, the Panthers won both the regular season and tournament championships and advanced to the National Sweet 16. The Panthers play their home games at Turner Valley Fields in Norwin PA, Pitt has contributed to the growing popularity of rugby in Western Pennsylvania.

Founded in 1998, the University of Pittsburgh Ultimate Club plays in USA Ultimate's D I College Championship Series, the highest level of collegiate competition in the sport. The 2005 season marked the first time the team qualified for the National Championship tournament. Since 2005, Pitt has qualified for the National Championship tournament (top 20 teams) for 15 consecutive seasons which has been highlighted in winning back to back National Championships in 2012 and 2013, and playing for another national title in 2018. In addition to winning the 2012 and 2013 National Titles, the team has won 3 College Easterns Championships (2006, 2012, and 2015), 15 consecutive Western Pennsylvania Conference titles (2005–2019), and 7 Ohio Valley Regional Titles (2011–2015, 2017 and 2018). The Callahan Award, which is presented annually to the most valuable collegiate player in the sport, was awarded to Pitt players Trent Dillon in 2016 and Michael Ing in 2020.

The Pitt women's lacrosse club team that plays in Division 1 of Women's Collegiate Lacrosse Associates (WCLA) as a member of the East division of the Women's Collegiate Lacrosse League (WCLL). The club was founded in 1992 and plays home games in the Pitt Sports Dome. Since its founding, Pitt has won the WCLL six times (2006, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, and 2019) and has advanced to the WCLA national championship tournament thirteen times (2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019), Although the University began sponsoring varsity women's lacrosse at the NCAA Division 1 level in 2022, with three members of the 2019 club national championship team playing for the varsity team, the club program continues to compete in the WCLA Division 1 level.

The Pitt men's club lacrosse team competes in the CLC West (formerly the CCLA) in MCLA Division 1.

Pitt men's club ice hockey team competes in Division 1 of the American Collegiate Hockey Association ACHA, and since 2022, has competed in the Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League (ESCHL). A former varsity sport at Pitt, the club program's modern incarnation was founded in 1971, the club ice hockey team moved to ACHA Division 1 in 2006. Pitt Previously competed in the College Hockey Mid America (CHMA) where it won the conference tournament in 2016 and regular season titles in 2017, 2018, 2020, and 2022. The team has appeared in the ACHA National tournament in 2017, 2018, and 2022. Pitt plays it home games at the Alpha Ice Complex.

For most of Pitt's athletic history until 2000, the university's most played and fiercest football rival was Penn State University. The series began in 1905 and ended on September 16, 2000 with a 12–0 Pitt Heinz Field victory, but with Penn State leading the series 50–42–4. Although the two teams ended play for years due to long standing coaching and administrative feuding, the rivalry remained heated among some fans. A revival of the rivalry occurred with a four game series from 2016 2019. Pitt athletic officials have publicly supported an annual renewal of the rivalry; however, Penn State has publicly countered that it is financially restricted from agreeing to a long term series on a home and home basis. On December 10, 2016, Pitt and Penn State resumed competition in men's and women's basketball, with a win in the men's game and loss in the women's game. They compete in other sports as well as in recruiting.

Pitt's biggest rivalry in recent years has been with West Virginia University, which began with football games that date back to 1895, and spills across multiple sports. The annual contests are called the Backyard Brawl due to the proximity of the two schools' main campuses that are 57 miles apart (as the crow flies), as well as the shared boundary between western Pennsylvania and North Central West Virginia and the fact that both school reside in the same Designated Market Area. The football rivalry represents the most played opponent for each school, and in recent seasons has been traditionally played on Thanksgiving weekend, with the result often having implications both on the conference and national level. A men's basketball rivalry with WVU shared an intensity similar to that of the football one, and was also shared between the women's basketball teams as well. The rivalry had been relatively unique in college athletics in recent years as the two most high profile sports, football and men's basketball, have resulted in games between teams have been all been nationally ranked in the same season. However, the football and basketball rivalries between the two schools were on hiatus due to Pitt and West Virginia moving into the ACC and Big 12 conferences, respectively. A four year home and road football series has been scheduled from 2022–25, with Pitt winning in 2022, 38 31, in front of the largest crowd ever to attend a Pittsburgh sports function (70,622). Since the 2017–18 season, an annual basketball series has resumed. Most other sponsored varsity and club sports fielded by both schools also shared a similar rivalry, and some continue despite the conference realignment for both schools.

Pitt and Duquesne University have had a long standing rivalry in men's basketball that dates to 1932. Dubbed the City Game, the inter city rivalry pits the only two Division 1 basketball schools located within Pittsburgh's city limits. With their campuses located only three miles apart, it was the most intense basketball rivalry for both schools through the 1970s. The series currently scheduled to be held every year at PPG Paints Arena and attracts significant local interest. Both schools' women's teams also play their annual version of the City Game. Prior to World War II, the schools were also rivals on the football field.

Pitt has a longstanding rivalry with the University of Notre Dame. Pitt has played Notre Dame on a semi regular basis since 1899, with never more than three years passing between contests since 1943. Notre Dame is tied for Pitt's third most played opponent in football while Pitt is Notre Dame's fifth most played opponent. In other sports, Pitt and Notre Dame both competed against each other regularly as members of the Big East Conference and those competitions continued when both schools moved into the ACC.

Pitt has a long standing rivalry with eastern football foe Syracuse University, which also spills over onto the basketball court. Pitt and Syracuse have played in football without interruption since 1955, a streak that will continue when both schools move into the ACC and become designated cross division rivals in that conference. Syracuse is tied as being Pitt's third most played football opponent, while Pitt is Syracuse's second most played opponent. The basketball version of the rivalry dates to 1914 and has been played nearly 100 times.

In 2005, Pitt began a football trophy rivalry with the University of Cincinnati Bearcats, dubbed the "River City Rivalry." This annual Big East Conference game stems from both cities being situated along the Ohio River and features a trophy of a riverboat telegraph (a device for signaling the boat's engine room). However, with Pitt being moved to the ACC in 2013, the series is on hiatus for the foreseeable future with Pitt leading the all time series 8–4.

Pitt also has a significant basketball rivalry with the University of Connecticut. The Pitt and UConn rivalry first sparked with a last second win by then number one ranked Connecticut at Pitt's Fitzgerald Field House in 1998 that was followed by a crowd displeasing emotional outburst by Connecticut's Khalid El Amin. The rivalry took on new significance in the 2002 Big East Conference Tournament championship game that saw Pitt lose in double overtime. Pitt went on to avenge its loss the following season by defeating UConn in the 2003 Big East Championship game. Pitt and UConn also met for the championship in 2004 and have since played in many conference games of significance since. In the 2008–2009 season, Pitt earned its first win over the country's top rated team by beating UConn on the road, and later at home while Connecticut was again ranked #1. However, the future of the rivalry is uncertain with Pitt's pending move to the ACC. Beginning in the 1980s, Pitt had an intense basketball rivalry with cross state school and fellow Big East Conference member Villanova that was touched off by recruiting battles over several high profile players. The future of this series is also in doubt when Pitt moves into the ACC. In the first half of the 20th century, a rivalry against Carnegie Tech (now Carnegie Mellon University), as well as a regional rivalry with Washington & Jefferson College ended following the deemphasis of the football and other athletic programs at those institutions post World War II. From 1935 to 1941 Pitt football had a notable series with Fordham University which was then coached by Jim Crowley and featured guard Vince Lombardi. The series received attention because, at the time, both schools were national football powers whose first three meetings resulted in scoreless ties (1935, 1936 & 1937).

The University of Pittsburgh officially adopted the Panthers of Pittsburgh as its nickname and mascot in 1909, shortly after changing its name from the Western University of Pennsylvania. The University of Pittsburgh claims that it was the first college or university to choose the panther as a mascot, which it did on November 16, 1909. According to alumnus George Baird, the reasons given for choosing the Panther were:
The panther was the most powerful animal that once roamed western Pennsylvania. Its standing as a noble animal. At the time, no other school used the panther as a symbol. Its colors are similar to Pittsburgh's colors of gold and blue. The "happy accident of alliteration." Over 20 representations of panthers can be found in and around the university's campus and athletic facilities. Students, alumni, and fans rub the nose of one Panther statue in particular, the Millennium Panther located outside the William Pitt Union, in order to bring good luck to the university's teams prior to athletic contests. This tradition was featured in a national television advertisement for the 2012 Hyundai Tucson automobile. In addition, a costumed mascot, named "Roc", performs with the Pitt Cheerleaders at various athletic and non athletic university events.

The student section for basketball, the "Oakland Zoo", has received national acclaim for the atmosphere it helps to create in the Petersen Events Center. The student section for football is termed the Panther Pitt and has been recognized as being among the best in college football.

The Pitt Band and its constituent Pitt Pep Band are often heard to play Pitt's fight songs, "Hail to Pitt", The Panther, and the "Pitt Victory Song" are typically played during athletic contests, along with other music. The University of Pittsburgh Alma Mater is typically played prior to or following athletic contests. In addition, a recent popular tradition involves the crowd singing a "Let's Go Pitt!" version of "Sweet Caroline" at various points during football games or other university events.

Varsity Walk is a walkway between the Cathedral of Learning and Heinz Memorial Chapel on which is carved the names of former Pitt athletes (each year since 1950) who have promoted the university through their athletic (Panther Award) or academic (Blue Gold Award) achievements.

In a tradition that began in 1983, the upper section of the Cathedral of Learning is illuminated "gold" after every football team victory, as well as important victories in other sports.

Alumni, students, faculty, athletes and non athletes alike, often refer to themselves as "Panthers". There have been many notable individuals who have been associated with the University of Pittsburgh throughout its history ranging from athletes like Mike Ditka and Larry Fitzgerald, to celebrities like Gene Kelly and Fred Rogers, writers like Michael Chabon, businessmen like Andrew Mellon, and scientists like Jonas Salk. Civil Rights icon and former lineman Bobby Grier is being featured in a future film. For more examples, see the List of University of Pittsburgh people.

Starting with the 2010–11 school year Comcast and Xfinity in Western Pennsylvania will receive an all Pitt Panthers network featuring all sports and commentary hosted by Pitt in second tier cable packages. The channel, located on the Comcast Network Channel 188 or 210, will also feature rebroadcasts of games carried by CBS, ABC or ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU shot by its own production crew and with the Pitt Radio announcers on play by play. The university promises at least 500 hours a year of sports games and matches.

The following radio stations are part of the Pittsburgh Panthers Radio Network. Internet & SatelliteCBS College Sports Panthers All AccessSirius Satellite RadioTerrestrial Location Station Programming Altoona WFBG 1290 AM Football, Men's Basketball Ambridge WMBA 1460 AM Football, Men's Basketball Beaver Falls WBVP 1230 AM Football, Men's Basketball Bedford WBFD 1310 AM FootballButler WISR 680 AM Men's Basketball WBUT 1050 AM Football Connellsville WKHB FM 103.9 FM Football, Men's Basketball DuBois WCED 1420 AM Football, Men's Basketball Elizabethtown WPDC 1600 AM Football, Men's Basketball Erie WRIE 1260 AM Football, Men's Basketball, Pat Narduzzi Show, Kevin Stallings Show Harrisburg WTKT 1460 AM Football, Men's Basketball, Pat Narduzzi Show, Kevin Stallings Show Huntingdon WHUN 1150 AM Football, Men's Basketball, Pat Narduzzi ShowJohnstown WCRO 1230 AM Football, Men's Basketball, Pat Narduzzi Show, Kevin Stallings Show WOWQ 101.7 FM Football Latrobe WXVE 1570 AM Football, Men's Basketball Meyersdale WQZS 93.3 FM Football, Men's Basketball, Pat Narduzzi Show, Kevin Stallings ShowPittsburgh KDKA 93.7 FM Football, Men's Basketball, Pat Narduzzi Show, Kevin Stallings Show WJAS 1320 AM Women's Basketball, Suzie McConnell Show Uniontown WMBS 590 AM Football, Men's Basketball, Pat Narduzzi Show, Kevin Stallings Show York WOYK 1350 AM Football, Men's Basketball