Sports in Pittsburgh Sports in Pittsburgh Sports in Pittsburgh have been played dating back to the American Civil War. Baseball, hockey, and the first professional American football game had been played in the city by 1892. Pittsburgh was first known as the "City of Champions" when the Pittsburgh Pirates, Pittsburgh Panthers, and Pittsburgh Steelers won multiple championships in the 1970s. Today, the city has three major professional sports franchises, the Pirates, Steelers, and Penguins; while the University of Pittsburgh Panthers compete in a Division I BCS conference, the highest level of collegiate athletics in the United States, in both football and basketball. Local
2017–18 Hampton Pirates men's basketball team lost in the quarterfinals of the MEAC Tournament to Maryland Eastern Shore. They were invited to the College Basketball Invitational where they lost in the first round to Coastal Carolina. The Pirates were picked to finish fourth in the MEAC in a preseason poll of coaches and sports information directors. Sophomore guard Jermaine Morrow was named to the preseason All-MEAC second team. Preseason All MEAC 2nd Team MEAC Player of the Week MEAC Defensive Player of the Week !colspan=9 style=| Exhibition !colspan=9 style=| Non-conference regular season !colspan=9 style=| MEAC regular season !colspan=9 style=| MEAC Tournament !colspan=9 style=| NIT 2017–18 Hampton