- 1976
- 1982
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Pitt Panthers National Football Champs 1976
On November 6, the second-ranked Panthers hosted Army at Pitt Stadium and won handily, but the significant action was taking place several hundred miles west, in West Lafayette, Indiana, where the Purdue Boilermakers held off the top-ranked Michigan Wolverines 16–14 in the closing seconds. The Pitt Stadium crowd erupted in celebration when the stadium public address announcer dramatically gave the ... -
Dan Marino – Pittsburgh Panthers
Marino attended the University of Pittsburgh and played for the university’s Pittsburgh Panthers football team from 1979 to 1982. As a freshman in 1979, Marino led the Panthers in a 24–17 triumph over West Virginia in the Backyard Brawl and a 29−14 win over longtime rival Penn State. Pitt’s 1980 Marino-led team finished No. 2 in the season-ending rankings (The ...
History of the Panthers
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), with the exception of the gymnastics team competing in the East Atlantic Gymnastics League. The university also maintains membership in the Eastern College Athletic Conference.
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 home football team victory, as well as important victories in other sports.
College Sports Established
1889
Location
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
College Name
University of Pittsburgh
Collegiate History
1973 - Present / NCAA Division 1
1921 - 1973 / University Division of the NCAA
1907 - 1921 / Athletic Association of the United States
Conference History
2013 – Present / ACC
1982 - 2013 / Big East Conference
1978 - 1990 / Independent
Nickname
Panthers - The University of Pittsburgh adopted the Panther as its official animal and mascot on November 16, 1909 at a meeting of students and alumni. This adoption occurred shortly after the university, previously known as the Western University of Pennsylvania, obtained an alteration to its charter in the summer of 1908 in order to change its name to the University of Pittsburgh. When named the Western University of Pennsylvania, the university had been referred to by the nickname of "Wup" (pronounced Whup) and athletic teams referred to as the "Wups", a play on the school's abbreviation W.U.P. At this time, the university also began the process of moving from what is now Pittsburgh's North Side to its current location in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh. According to George M. P. Baird (class of 1909), who made the suggestion for the Panther as the university's mascot, the reasons it was chosen were:
1. The Panther was the most formidable creature once indigenous to the Pittsburgh region.
2. It had ancient, heraldic standing as a noble animal.
3. The happy accident of alliteration.
4. The close approximation of its hue to the old gold of the University's colors (old gold and blue), hence its easy adaptability in decoration.
NCAA Championships
Baseball 0
Men's Basketball 2
1930, 1928
Women's Basketball 0
Football 9
1976, 1937, 1936, 1934, 1931, 1929, 1918, 1916, 1915
Soccer 0
To qualify as the greatest player for this team, the player must have played one season for this team. If not, we will remove the player.
* verifies that player has played for this team as an added player by a fan.