Hampton's colors are reflex blue and white, and their nickname is "The Pirates". Hampton sports teams participate in NCAA Division I (FCS for football) in the Big South Conference. They joined this in 2018 upon leaving the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. Before joining the Big South, Hampton won MEAC titles in many sports, including football, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's track, and men's and women's tennis. Hampton is one of two NCAA Division 1 HBCU institutions (along with Tennessee State University, in the Ohio Valley Conference) to not be a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference or Southwestern Athletic Conference.