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Pittsburgh 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).

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.

Department of Athletics
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.

Achievements
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.

Varsity sports
The University of Pittsburgh sponsors in 19 varsity sports in NCAA Division I (Division I FBS for football), the highest competitive level of intercollegiate athletics in the United States. All Pitt varsity sports teams compete in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).

Baseball

Baseball, Pitt's oldest varsity sport started in 1869 and has produced multiple All-Americans, Major League Baseball players, and was a regular threat in the Big East baseball tournament championship. The baseball team was ranked in the top 25 during several of the past seasons and moved into a new facility, the Charles L. Cost Field at the Petersen Sports Complex, in 2011. Pitt baseball is coached by Mike Bell.

''NCAA tournament appearances (3): 1959, 1965, 1995  Conference Championships: Tournament  (1): 1995; Regular Season (1): 1994''

Men's basketball
Pitt began playing men's basketball in 1905 and soon become a national power. In the era preceding the initiation of national tournaments, the Panthers were both contemporaneously and later retroactively, by the Helms Athletic Foundation (1927–28 and 1929–30) and the Premo-Porretta Power Poll (1927–28), regarded as national champions. Those teams, coached by the innovative Naismith Hall of Fame inductee "Doc" Carlson, were led by National Player of the Year and Hall of Famer Charlie Hyatt. Following a Final Four appearance in 1941, Pitt appeared in a handful of NCAA tournaments throughout the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, including an Elite Eight appearance in 1974 led by All-American Billy Knight. Pitt entered the Big East Conference in 1982, and by the end of the decade had secured a pair of Big East regular season championships led by All-Americans Charles Smith and Jerome Lane. The last decade has been an era of consistent national and conference competitiveness that included 10 straight NCAA tournament appearances with five Sweet 16 appearances and an Elite Eight appearance in 2009. In total, Pitt has 25 NCAA appearances, seven Sweet Sixteen appearances, 10 conference regular season championships, four conference tournament championships, ten conference tournament championship game appearances, and 37 players drafted to play professionally with the most recent being Sam Young and DeJuan Blair. Pitt men's basketball plays its home games at the Petersen Events Center and is coached by Jeff Capel.

''National Championships (2 Helms): 1927–28, 1929–30 (23–2)  NCAA Final Four (1): 1941; Elite Eight (3): 1941, 1974, 2009; Sweet Sixteen (7): 1957, 1974, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2009  NCAA tournament appearances (27): 1941, 1957, 1958, 1963, 1974, 1981, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2023  NIT appearances (9): 1964, 1975, 1980, 1984, 1986, 1992, 1997, 2001, 2015  Conference Championships: Tournament (4): 1981, 1982, 2003, 2008; Regular Season (10): 1933, 1934, 1935, 1937, 1987, 1988, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2011''

Women's basketball
The Pittsburgh Panthers women's varsity basketball program started during the 1914–1915 school year and lasted until 1927 before going on hiatus until 1970. Pitt's women's team has posted several NCAA, NWIT, and EAIAW regional tournament appearances. Between 2006 and 2010, Pitt has appeared in the national rankings and advanced to five straight post-season tournaments. Included in that stretch are three NCAA tournament bids which resulted in Sweet Sixteen appearances in 2008 and 2009. Pitt women's basketball plays its home games at the Petersen Events Center and is coached by Lance White.

''NCAA Sweet Sixteen (2): 2008, 2009  NCAA tournament appearances (4): 2007, 2008, 2009, 2015  NWIT/WNIT appearances (5): 1981, 1994, 2000, 2006, 2010  Conference Championships: Regular Season (1): 1984''

Cross country
Men's and women's cross country at Pitt host home meets at adjacent Schenley Park and is overseen by head coach Alonzo Webb with distance assistant Adam Bray.

''Men's NCAA Top Ten finishes (3): 1951, 1953, 1954  Men's NCAA championship appearances (7): 1951, 1953, 1954, 1964, 1970, 1975, 1990  Men's IC4A Championships (2): 1924, 1955''

Football
Traditionally the most popular sport at the University of Pittsburgh, football has been played at the highest levels at the university since 1889. During the more than 125 years of competitive football at Pitt, the university has helped pioneer the sport by, among other things, instituting the use of numbers on jerseys, having the first live radio broadcast of a college football game, and desegregating the Sugar Bowl. Some of football's all-time greatest coaches and players have plied their trade at Pitt, including Pop Warner, Jock Sutherland, Marshall Goldberg, Joe Schmidt, Mike Ditka, Tony Dorsett, Hugh Green, Mark May, Dan Marino, Bill Fralic, Curtis Martin, Larry Fitzgerald, Darrelle Revis, Aaron Donald, and LeSean McCoy. Among the top schools in terms of all-time wins, Pitt teams have claimed nine national championships and boast 87 players that have been chosen as first-team All-Americans. Pitt football plays its home games at Heinz Field and has practice facilities located at the UPMC Sports Performance Complex. Pitt football is currently coached by Pat Narduzzi.

''National Championships (9 claimed): 1915, 1916, 1918, 1929, 1931, 1934, 1936, 1937, 1976  Undefeated seasons (8): 1904, 1910, 1915, 1916, 1917, 1920, 1937, 1976  Eastern and Conference Championships (14): 1925, 1927, 1929, 1931, 1932, 1934, 1936, 1937, 1955, 1976, 1979, 1980, 2004, 2010, 2021  Conference Division Championships (1): 2018, 2021  Bowl appearances (37): Sun (5), Rose (4), Fiesta (4), Sugar (3), Gator (3), Birmingham (3), Insight (2), Mayo/Tire/Car Care (2), Peach (1), Cotton (1), Tangerine (1947–1982) (1), Tangerine (2001–2003) (1), Liberty (1), Pinstripe (1), Military (1), Armed Forces (1), Quick Lane (1), Little Caesars (1), Bluebonnet (1)''

Gymnastics
Pitt women's gymnastics has qualified for the NCAA Regional Championship in twenty different season. Pitt is one of only 22 schools in the nation to claim an individual national champion, Lisa Shirk who won the uneven bars in 1982. Pitt competed in the East Atlantic Gymnastics League from 1995 until 2022 when the ACC began sponsor women's gymnastics beginning in the 2023 season. Pitt Gymnastics hosts home meets at Fitzgerald Field House, has a Gymnastics Training Center at the adjacent Trees Hall, and is led by head coach Casey Jo MacPherson.

''AIAW / NCAA national championship appearances (2): 1979, 1981  Individual National Champions: 1''

''EAIAW / NCAA regional championship appearances (22): 1981, 1982, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2013, 2018  Conference Championships (1): 2016''

Lacrosse
Pitt announced that it will field a varsity women's lacrosse team beginning with the 2021–22 season. Women's lacrosse currently exists as a club sport program at the university and has had significant success at that level including winning the club sport national championship in 2014 and 2019 and finishing as the national runner up in 2017.

Men's soccer

Men's soccer is coached by Jay Vidovich. The team moved into a new facility, Ambrose Urbanic Field at the Petersen Sports Complex, in the spring of 2011. It advanced to the NCAA College Cup (Final Four) during the 2020 and 2022 seasons (the 2020 season NCAA tournament was played in May 2021 due to COVID-19).

''Men's NCAA College Cup (final four) (2): 2020, 2022; Elite Eight (4): 1962, 2020, 2021, 2022; Sweet Sixteen (4): 1965, 2020, 2021, 2022  Men's NCAA tournament appearances (7): 1962, 1965, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023''

Men's Conference Championships: Regular Season (3): 1981, 1985, 2020

Women's soccer
Pittsburgh Panthers women's soccer is currently coached by Randy Waldrum and was established in 1996. The team also plays home games at Ambrose Urbanic Field at the Petersen Sports Complex. The team qualified for the NCAA and ACC Tournaments for the first time in 2022, but lost in the Sweet 16 in the NCAA tournament and the second round of the ACC Tournament. They also participated in the Big East Conference Women's Soccer Tournament when the Panthers were part of the Big East Conference.

''Women's NCAA Elite Eight (1): 2023; Sweet Sixteen (2): 2022, 2023  Women's NCAA tournament appearances (2): 2022, 2023''

Softball
Softball was founded as a varsity sport at Pitt in 1998 and entered the Big East in 1999 and ACC for the 2013–14 season. In 2011, Pitt won a program record 34 games in a single record en route to a team record third straight winning season and was the ACC tournament runner-up in 2015. The team moved into a new softball facility, Vartabedian Field at the Petersen Sports Complex, in 2011. Pitt softball was coached by Jenny Allard.

''NCAA tournament appearances (1): 2015  Conference Championships: Regular Season (1): 2018''

Swimming and diving

Pitt's Swimming and Diving teams have produced several Olympians and dominated the Big East Conference having won 19 men's and 9 women's Big East Championships while a member of that conference between 1983 and 2013. The Swimming and Diving teams train and compete at Trees Pool. The men's team first competed in 1913 while the women's team was founded in 1974. Both men's and women's swimming are coached by Chase Kreitler while diving is coached by Katie Hazelton.

''Men's NCAA championship appearances, team scored (23): 1938, 1953, 1954, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2016, 2017, 2021, 2023  Individual National Champions: 1''

Men's Conference Championships (41): 1934, 1938, 1940, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004

''Women's NCAA championship appearances, team scored (15): 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2015, 2016, 2017  Individual National Champions (AIAW): 1''

Women's Conference Championships (10): 1979, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991

Track and field

In track and field, Pitt has produced several Olympic and NCAA champions such as 800m Olympic gold medalist John Woodruff, two-time 110m hurdle Olympic gold medalist Roger Kingdom, and 7-time NCAA champion and 2005 World Champion triple jumper Trecia-Kaye Smith. Pitt track and field is coached by Alonzo Webb.

At the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, the Pitt men have finished as high as fifth place, while the Pitt women have finished as high as third.

''Men's NCAA Indoor Top Ten finishes (4): 1971, 1986, 1987, 1988  Men's NCAA Indoor championship appearances, team scored (18): 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1991, 2007, 2008, 2012, 2014, 2021  Men's Indoor Individual National Champions: 6  Men's Indoor Conference Championships (1): 1987''

''Women's NCAA Indoor Top Ten finishes (4): 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999  Women's NCAA Indoor championship appearances, team scored (12): 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2023  Women's Indoor Individual National Champions: 7  Women's Indoor ECAC Championships (3): 2001, 2004, 2005; Conference Championships (3): 1989, 1999, 2005''

At the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, the Pitt men have finished as high as 8th place, while the Pitt women have finished as high as 9th.

''Men's NCAA Outdoor Top Ten finishes (2): 1928, 1929  Men's NCAA Outdoor championship appearances, team scored (32): 1921, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1942, 1946, 1950, 1954, 1956, 1963, 1965, 1968, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1983, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 2006, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017  Men's Outdoor Individual National Champions: 12  Men's Outdoor IC4A Championships (2): 1940, 2014; Conference Championships (2): 1989, 1994''

''Women's NCAA Outdoor Top Ten finishes (2): 1994, 1999  Women's NCAA Outdoor championship appearances, team scored (13): 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2005, 2006  Women's Outdoor Individual National Champions: 3  Women's Outdoor ECAC Championships (4): 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006; Conference Championships (5): 1990, 1991, 1994, 2005, 2006''

Volleyball

The Pitt volleyball program was established in 1974, and since that time the Panthers have one of the nation's top all-time winning percentages, appearances in 22 national championship tournaments, and won 16 conference championships while a member of the Big East and ACC. Pitt volleyball host home matches at the Fitzgerald Field House and is coached by Dan Fisher.

''NCAA Final Four (3) 2021, 2022; 2023; NCAA Elite Eight (4): 2020–21, 2021, 2022, 2023; AIAW / NCAA Sweet Sixteen (7): 1978, 1981, 1990, 2020–21, 2021, 2022, 2023  AIAW / NCAA tournament appearances (22): 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 2003, 2004, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020–21, 2021, 2022, 2023  NIVC tournament appearances (2): 1989, 1995  Conference Championships: Tournament (11): 1982, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 2003; Regular Season (11): 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 2003, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023''

Wrestling

The wrestling program has a rich history having finishing second at the NCAA Championships twice and in the top ten 13 times, being 15th in the number of all-time individual national champions with 16, and boasting 81 All-American wrestlers throughout its history. Pitt competes in the ACC but formerly was a member of the Eastern Wrestling League and before that, the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association. Pitt wrestling hosts home meets at Fitzgerald Field House and is coached by Keith Gavin.

''NCAA runner-up (2): 1954, 1957; Top Ten finishes (13): 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1970  NCAA championship appearances, team scored (68): 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023  Individual National Champions: 17  Conference Champions: Tournament (6): 1954, 1955, 1956, 1960, 2011, 2012, 2013; Regular Season (5): 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2023''

Previous varsity sports and conference affiliations
University-sponsored varsity sports that no longer exist at Pitt included men's teams in boxing, fencing, golf, ice hockey, gymnastics, rifle, tennis, volleyball (1979–1983), and water polo; as well as women's field hockey and tennis.

NCAA championship event participation for these programs is as follows.

Men's golf NCAA championship appearances (1): 1958

Men's gymnastics NCAA championship appearances (8): 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963

Men's gymnastics Individual National Champions: 2

Men's water polo NCAA championship appearances (1): 1976

Pitt's athletic teams have competed as independents or in various conferences throughout their history. Football competed as an independent until the formation of the Big East Football Conference in 1991 in which it remained a member through the 2012 season. Pitt's men's ice hockey team competed in the Intercollegiate League beginning with the 1909–1910 season. Pitt men's basketball competed in the Eastern Intercollegiate Conference from 1932–33 to 1938–39 and in the Eastern 8 conference from 1976–77 to 1981–82 before joining the Big East in at the beginning of the 1982–83 season and in which it competed through the 2012–13 season. Women's basketball also joined the Big East in 1982–83, having competed previously as an independent. Baseball joined the Big East when the conference began sponsoring the sport in the spring of 1985. Men's soccer entered the Big East in fall of 1985. The women's soccer program began play in 1996 as an independent and entered the Big East in 1997. Softball began play in 1998 as an independent and entered the Big East in 1999. All of Pitt's Big East sports transitioned to the ACC beginning in the 2013–14 season. Pitt's men's gymnastic team competed in the Intercollegiate Gymnastic League. Pitt wrestling competed in the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association until it entered the Eastern Wrestling League in 1976 where it competed before moving into the ACC in 2013–14. The men's swimming and diving team previously competed in the Eastern Collegiate Swimming Association.

Scholar athletes

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.

Hall of Fame

The inaugural class of the Pitt Hall of Fame was inducted on September 7, 2018.

Pitt Band
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.

Pitt cheerleaders and dance team
The Pitt cheerleaders have won multiple cheerleading national championships, including three straight from 1992–1994. At the 2007 NCA/NDA Collegiate Cheerleading and Dance National Championships, Pitt's Cheer squad won the 2007 Challenge Cup and finished in eighth place overall in the All-Girl Division I category. The Pitt dance team has also been competitive in national competitions, earning a top-20 finish at the NCA/NDA competition in the Division IA category in 2007, and advancing to finals in 2010 to finish 13th. The Cheerleading team also oversees the costumed Panther mascot named Roc, who finished 6th in the NCA/NDA College Nationals Mascot Competition in 2011. In 2019, the Pitt Cheer team won the national championship in Intermediate Small Co-ed Division 1 and finished sixth in Division 1 team performance dance competition at the NCA/NDA College Cheer and Dance Championships. The cheerleading and dance team is coached by Theresa Nuzzo.

NCA and UCA All-Girl Division I Cheerleading National Championships (3): 1992, 1993, 1994

Facilities

Pitt athletic teams utilize the following facilities and venues:
 * Charles L. Cost Sports Center – Multi-sport (baseball, softball, soccer, track & field) indoor practice facility
 * Acrisure Stadium – Football home field
 * Fitzgerald Field House – Wrestling, volleyball, indoor track & field, and gymnastics home venue and olympic sports training, locker room and office facilities
 * Petersen Events Center – Men's and women's basketball
 * Petersen Sports Complex – An on-campus multi-sport complex housing the home competition and practice venues for baseball, soccer, and softball.
 * Ambrose Urbanic Field – Men's and women's soccer
 * Charles L. Cost Field – Baseball
 * Vartabedian Field – Softball
 * Schenley Park – Men's and women's cross country home courseUPMCSportsPracticeFields.jpg]]
 * Trees Fields – practice and intramural fields, and future site of a new track and field and band complex.
 * Trees Hall – Swimming and diving home pool (Trees Pool) and the Gymnastics Training Center
 * UPMC Sports Performance Complex – Indoor and outdoor football practice facility

Panther Club
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.

Club sports
Numerous Pitt athletic teams compete intercollegiately at the student club level without official sanction or sponsorship from the university's Department of Athletics. Although some are registered as official student organizations with the University of Pittsburgh Student Government Board and thus receive some small funding from that body, they are all largely self-supported.

The following teams compete in intercollegiate non-varsity club sports:

Men's Handball

Men's Ice Hockey

Men's Lacrosse

Men's Roller Hockey

Men's Rugby

Men's Soccer

Men's Ultimate

Men's Volleyball

Men's Water Polo

Men's Wrestling

Women's Gymnastics

Women's Ice Hockey

Women's Lacrosse

Women's Rugby

Women's Soccer

Women's Softball, Fast-Pitch

Women's Ultimate

Women's Volleyball

Women's Water Polo

American Football Auto Racing

Baseball

Capoeira

Cross Country

Cycling

Disc Golf

Fencing

Equestrian

Field Hockey

Golf

Judo

Hurling

Quidditch

Rowing

Sailing

Ski

Snowboard

Swimming

Tennis

Triathlon

Taekwondo

Western Equestrian

Rugby
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.

Ultimate
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.

Women's lacrosse
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), which was highlighted by winning WCLA Division 1 National Championships in 2014 and 2019 and finishing as the national runner up in 2017. 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.

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

Men's Ice Hockey
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.

Rivalries
Pitt's sports teams have several historic rivalries including:

Penn State rivalry
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.

West Virginia rivalry
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.

Duquesne rivalry

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.

Notre Dame rivalry
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.

Syracuse rivalry
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.

Cincinnati rivalry
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.

Other rivalries
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).

Mascot
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:
 * 1) The panther was the most powerful animal that once roamed western Pennsylvania.
 * 2) Its standing as a noble animal.
 * 3) At the time, no other school used the panther as a symbol.
 * 4) Its colors are similar to Pittsburgh's colors of gold and blue.
 * 5) 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.

Student sections
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.

Song
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
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.

Victory Lights
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.

Notable Panthers
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.

Pitt Panthers Television
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.

Pittsburgh Panthers Radio Network
The following radio stations are part of the Pittsburgh Panthers Radio Network.

title: Pittsburgh Panthers


text:
Monterey, New South Wales

Monterey is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 15 km south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the St George area. Monterey is in the local government area of the Bayside Council.

Monterey sits on the western shores of Botany Bay. Lady Robinsons Beach and Cook Park run along the eastern border. Scarborough Park, which features a pond, runs along the western border. The suburb is mostly residential with a small group of shops on Chuter Avenue, near the intersection of Scarborough Street.

The 1987 Music Video for Mental As Anything's single "He's just no good for you" was filmed in Scarborough Street, Monterey.

History
Monterey was originally part of Brighton-Le-Sands and Ramsgate. As the area developed, street names with a Californian influence were selected such as Hollywood, Monterey, Pasadena and Culver. A small group of shops were built on Chuter Avenue, near Monterey Street. When the post office opened here it was known as the Monterey post office. Rockdale Council wanted to create a new suburb, although not everyone agreed with this name as some thought it was too American, especially with some of the street names already in the area. Since most people were in favour, Monterey was officially declared a suburb in 1972.

Scarborough Park was once part of Pat Moore's Swamp or Patmore Swamp. It was named by the Hon. Thomas Holt after the English coastal town of Scarborough, North Yorkshire.

Population
According to the 2021 census of Population, there were 4,619 people usually resident in Monterey. 57.0% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were Greece (5.9%) and Egypt (4.1%) as well as China (2.2%). 45.7% of people spoke only English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Greek (16.7%), Arabic (7.4%), Spanish (3.5%) and Macedonian (3.4%). The most common responses for religion were Eastern Orthodox (28.3%), Catholic (22.4%), No Religion (16.8%) and Islam (6.7%).

Landmarks

 * Scarborough Park, Tanner Reserve, Cook Park
 * Lady Robinsons Beach

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Monterey, New South Wales


text:
Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Index to tables of contents of National Geographic

 This page is an archive of the proposed deletion of the article below. Further comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or on a Votes for Undeletion nomination). No further edits should be made to this page.

The result of the debate was speedy delete. Rob Church Talk 00:35, 1 September 2005 (UTC)

Index to tables of contents of National Geographic
Apparently it's intended to link to articles containing the tables of contents of issues of National Geographic for each year. Ignoring the fact that this would produce approximately 1000 copyvios (one for each month since 1923), Wikipedia is not an indiscriminate collection of information. --Carnildo 06:35, 31 August 2005 (UTC)

 * Delete per Carnildo. See also the one for Reader's Digest. -- Ricky81682 (talk) 07:29, August 31, 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete per nominator. KissL 10:50, 31 August 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete copyvios DV8 2XL 12:02, 31 August 2005 (UTC)
 * Keep, tables of contents aren't copyvios any more than lists of episodes are. Issues of National Geographic are far more encyclopedic than Simpsons episodes. Kappa 13:14, 31 August 2005 (UTC)
 * No, they are copyright violations. Indexes / tables of contents of a copyrighted work are copyrighted. Strong delete. Proto t c 14:34, 31 August 2005 (UTC)
 * delete ne --TimPope 17:36, 31 August 2005 (UTC)
 * Comment: I think a strong argument can be made that tables of contents and similar material would fall under Fair Use, at least under U.S. law, considering the statutory criteria for a Fair Use balancing test. Also, WP routinely features lists of music recording tracks (CD contents, etc.), which are part of the copyrighted work, but also, to my mind, fall under fair use. In this specific case, however, even if permissible under Fair Use, I agree that Wikipedia is not an indiscriminate collection of information.  MCB 18:57, 31 August 2005 (UTC)
 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in an undeletion request). No further edits should be made to this page.


text:
Sweet chili sauce

Sweet chili sauce (also known as Thai Sweet chili sauce), known as nam chim kai in Thailand (น้ำจิ้มไก่; lit. 'dipping sauce for chicken'), is a popular chili sauce condiment in Thai, Afghan, Malaysian, and Western cuisine. It is commonly made with red chili peppers (often Fresno chile, Thai or red jalapeños), rice wine vinegar, sometimes garlic, sometimes fish sauce, and a sweetening ingredient such as fruit or a refined sugar or honey.

It is popular as a dip in European Chinese restaurant dishes such as prawn toast, egg rolls, lettuce wraps, chicken wings and spring rolls. It can also be purchased in bottle form. In Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Canada, and the United States, "sweet Thai chili sauce" is available as a condiment at many takeaway stores and supermarkets.

title: Sweet chili sauce


text:
User talk:Crimson621

Hello, and welcome to Wikipedia! We welcome and appreciate your contributions, such as Anton Antipov, but we regretfully cannot accept copyrighted text or images borrowed from either web sites or printed material. For more information about Wikipedia's policies and guidelines, take a look at our Five Pillars. Happy editing! Bovlb 06:35:29, 2005-08-31 (UTC)

title: User talk:Crimson621


text:
User talk:JamesYoungman

Welcome!

Welcome to Wikipedia, JamesYoungman! My name is Ryan, aka Acetic Acid. I noticed that you were new and haven't received any messages yet. I just wanted to see how you were doing. Wikipedia can be a little intimidating at first, since it uses different formatting than other sites that use HTML and CSS. In the long run, though, you'll find that the WikiSyntax is a lot easier and faster than those other ways. Here are a few links to get you started:

 * How to edit a page
 * Editing, policy, conduct, and structure tutorial
 * Picture tutorial
 * How to write a great article

There are a lot of policies and guides to read, but I highly recommend reading over those first. If you have any questions, feel free to leave me a message on my talk page. Please be sure to sign your name on Talk Pages using four tildes (~~~~) to produce your name and the current date, along with a link to your user page. This way, others know when you left a message and how to find you. It's easier than having to type out your name, right? :)

I hope you enjoy contributing to Wikipedia. We can use all the help we can get! Have a nice day. Sincerely,  Acetic Acid  ( talk  ) 06:36, August 31, 2005 (UTC)

World of Skin
Thanks for your message. I've clarified the sentence now. --Richardrj talkemail 07:36, 11 November 2007 (UTC)

Disputed fair use rationale for Image:Filigree And Shadow.jpg
Thanks for uploading Image:Filigree And Shadow.jpg. However, there is a concern that the rationale you have provided for using this image under "fair use" may be invalid. Please read the instructions at Non-free content carefully, then go to the image description page and clarify why you think the image qualifies for fair use. Using one of the templates at Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to ensure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If it is determined that the image does not qualify under fair use, it will be deleted within a couple of days according to our criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the media copyright questions page. Thank you.BetacommandBot (talk) 21:17, 13 February 2008 (UTC)

title: User talk:JamesYoungman


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Music history of the United States to the Civil War

From the American Revolutionary War to the start of the American Civil War, American music underwent many changes. The folk vernacular traditions diversified and spread across the nation, while a number of prominent composers of European art music also arose.

Shape note
The sacred music of The First New England School of composers quickly spread south, facilitated by the invention of shape notes, a system in which four different note heads corresponded to the four syllables (fa, sol, la and mi) then used in musical instruction. In 1801, William Smith and William Little published The Easy Instructor, a sacred tunebook introducing this system. While the shape-note system itself never took root in New England, The Easy Instructor and similar collections were instrumental in spreading the music of New England composers to the western and southern states, where tunebook compilers added settings of folk and popular melodies (including "folk hymns" and revival choruses) to the popular New England repertory. Popular collections included Ananias Davisson's Kentucky Harmony (Harrisonburg, Virginia, 1817), Allen Carden's Missouri Harmony (Cincinnati, 1820), William Walker's Southern Harmony (1835) and B.F. White and E.J. King's Sacred Harp (1844).

As the popularity of seven-syllable (doremi) solmization increased in the antebellum period, some teachers and publishers experimented with seven-character shape notes as well; the system of Jesse B. Aikin in The Christian Minstrel (Philadelphia, 1846) eventually won out in the years after the Civil War.

Africans in Louisiana
In Louisiana, drums remained legal well into the 19th century. There, African slaves, many from the Caribbean islands, danced in large groups, often in circle dances. As of 1817, dancing in New Orleans had been restricted to the area called Congo Square, which was a hotbed of musical fusionism, as African styles from across America and the Caribbean met. Nevertheless, by 1820, opposition from whites in New Orleans and an influx of blacks elsewhere in the U.S. caused the decline of Congo Square's prominence. The tradition of mass dances in Congo Square continued sporadically, though it came to have more in common with minstrelsy than with authentic African traditions.

Caribbean dances known to have been imported to Louisiana include the calinda, congo, counjai and bamboula. The Congo had also been known earlier, mentioned as a social dance in colonial Richmond, Virginia.

Spirituals
In the 1830s, a Great Awakening of fervent Christianity began, leading to popular spiritual song traditions. During this period, the country was undergoing a religious revival that centered around outdoor worship gatherings (camp meetings), where hymns (camp songs) were sung, as well as itinerant preachers called circuit riders. The period began early in the century, with the first camp meeting occurring in July 1800 in Logan County, Kentucky. This was followed by an 1801 meeting in Cane Ridge, Kentucky which lasted for six days and attracted ten to twenty thousand people. Though originally run by Presbyterian ministers, Methodists and Baptists soon took over. Methodists brought with them hymns, written by John Wesley and his followers, which became very popular. Many songs were semi-improvised, stitched together out of wandering verses that were used in a number of different songs.

The Shakers also played a role in the Great Awakening, and their music, which included both hymns and songs, began diversifying greatly during this period (1837–1848). The most well-known Shaker song, "Simple Gifts", by Joseph Brackett and adapted by Aaron Copland in Appalachian Spring), came from this period. Many of the new Shaker spirituals were called "gift songs", and were revealed to the initiate in a vision by the spirits of Mother Ann, the sect's founder, angels, other historical figures or other races, such as Native Americans. They were not written at first, but eventually the Shakers created their own form of musical notation, and composers like Issachar Bates  became renowned.  By the end of the 1840s, Shaker meetings were a popular entertainment for non-Shakers.

African-Americans, still mostly enslaved, were not generally allowed to participate, they watched, and were inspired to use African vocal styles and rhythms with the English hymns. These songs were called Negro spirituals. While many were songs praising God or Jesus, others contained coded messages to fellow slaves and rhetoric or symbolically demanding freedom. Spirituals like "Steal Away To Jesus" communicated an impending escape, while "Let my people go" and "Go Down Moses" overtly concerned Biblical Hebrew slaves as a symbol for African slaves.

Musically, spirituals were a descendant of New England choral traditions mixed with African rhythms and call-and-response forms. Shape-note hymns from the First New England School spread south, and were popular there long after New England had moved on. The hymns were simplified to the extreme, until they were nothing more than a tune and some religious lyrics; interacting with African American slave songs, the result was the spiritual tradition.

Popularization of slave music
In the 1820s, genteel English-styled ballads were popular in urban areas. Many of the songwriters, however, were looking for something new, and were connected with the growing abolitionism movement, which sought to abolish slavery; these included most famously the Hutchinson Family Singers. The 1840s saw increased awareness of African American musical traditions, culminating in the publication of the first collection of African American songs, The Negro Singer's Own Book (1846). Some songwriters, including John Hill Hewitt and Stephen Foster, sought to incorporate what was then called Ethiopian music into their compositions. Songs with simple melodies and delicately incorporated ornamentations like suspensions and appoggiaturas were popular, including "Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair" and "Oh My Darling Clementine". These songs, especially those by Foster, could be considered the beginning of American popular music. It has been called beginning of the "increasing influence of the Afro-American style of song and dance in American life" (Stearns and Stearns, Jazz Dance, quoted in Chase, 232).

Blues
Following the Civil War, a form of song developed with some distinctive characteristics that may be of ancient origin, perhaps related to the call-and-response format. These songs consisted of three 4-bar phrases. The first two were identical and described a problem, beginning on the implied tonic and subdominant harmonies respectively. The third phrase indicates a reaction to the problem described and begins on the implied dominant harmony. All three phrases cadence on a sustained tonic occupying the third and fourth bar.

American songwriters
Main articles: Daniel Decatur Emmett and Stephen Foster

Often said to be the first two important composers in American musical history, Emmett and Foster were songwriters, focusing on minstrel songs. They wrote many of the most popular songs of the century, some of which are still remembered today.

Emmett was born in Ohio to a family who immigrated from Virginia. He was uneducated but musically gifted, and eventually wound up in the Virginia Minstrels. He was familiar the music of the southern states, and his songs reflected his awareness of southern culture. These included "Old Dan Tucker" and "De Boatman's Dance". Emmett's "Johnny Roach" includes the first use of the word Dixie to describe the south (Chase, 240). That song is one of several from the period written from the point of view of an escaped slave who pines for the plantation he has escaped from. Emmett wrote this song after joining Bryant's Minstrels in 1858, when tensions across the country were high, and controversy raged surrounding slavery, state's rights and the enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act.

Emmett's use of Dixie was as a personal name, given to a black postboy, and may have been used as to indicate that the character, played by a white actor, was in fact black. Emmett's later song "I Wish I Was in Dixie's Land", later popularized simply as "Dixie", was the beginning of the term's use to refer to the south. The song was an instant success, and soon became embroiled in a copyright dispute between several publishers. The song was so popular it was even played at the inauguration of Jefferson Davis, and was re-claimed as a patriotic northern song by Abraham Lincoln at the end of the war.

Stephen Foster wrote numerous songs that remain well-known today, including "Camptown Races", "Oh! Susanna", "Old Folks at Home" and "Ching a Ring Chaw". The last, technically titled "Sambo's Address to He' Bred'rin", urges its audience to emigrate to "Hettee" (Haiti, perceived as a "Negro Republic" in the Western Hemisphere).

Foster was born in 1826 to a farming family in Lawrenceville, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh. He played the piano as a youth and learned the rules of the "genteel", or upper-class traditions, though he was also fascinated by comin blackface songs. His first published composition was 1844's "Open Thy Lattice, Love", which was based on words by George Pope Morris and had previously been adapted for music by Joseph Philip Knight. In addition to the renowned blackface songs, Foster also wrote such parlor songs as "What Must a Fairy's Dream Be?" and "Molly! Do You Love Me?".

Banjo
The banjo entered the American national consciousness in the middle of the 19th century. Though originally only four-stringed, a five-stringed banjo was standard by the 1840s; this change is often credited to Virginia's only major blackface performer, Joel Walker Sweeney. The instrument is widely used in many kinds of African American folk music, though it was originally developed in Arabia, and is likely descended from one or more African or Asian instruments. It is now a major element of popular music, especially country and bluegrass.

Brass bands
The early 1850s saw a growth in the development of brass band music. Brass bands were made up of brass and woodwinds, especially the E-flat cornet and soprano saxhorn. Many of these bands were associated with an Army regiment, while others were associated with the workers at a particular factory. Employers urging their employees to form bands were common in the United Kingdom at the time, and the practice spread through immigration to the US. These factory bands' concerts were probably rowdy affairs, with musicians and listeners dancing wildly with no spatial split between them. British bands were all amateurs, but America produced many professional ensembles as well.

John C. Linehan described the spirit of American brass bands, and specifically the Fisherville Cornet Band, formed immediately before the Civil War:

 * (The band's) engagement by the Horse Guards, although a matter of pride, was nevertheless an occasion of dismay, for the boys for the first time in their lives had to play on horseback. As nearly all of them were novices in this direction the outlook was serious, for it is a question if there were half a dozen of the number that had ever straddled a horse. When the proposition was first broached in the band room, one of the saddest looking men was the leader, Loren Currier. He said he would vote to accept on one condition, and that was if a horse could be secured large enough to have them all ride together and give him a place in the middle. The proposition was, however, accepted. . . . It was a moving sight (the moving was all towards the ground, however), and the bucking broncos of the Wild West Show furnished no more sport, while it lasted, than did the gallant equestrians of the Fisherville Band while trying to train their horses to march and wheel by fours.

Besides the English tradition, German, Italian and Irish immigrants also had a major impact on the American brass band tradition. Forty-two professional German musicians, for example, formed the Seventh Regiment Band, one of the most famous brass bands during the 1850s and the only exclusively regimental band of the period; the bandleader, who went by the name Noll, used brass and reed instruments in duo proportion. German bandleader Friendrich Wilhelm Wieprecht was also influential, collecting full scores for his compilation of instrumentations of popular works, für die jetzige Stimmenbesetzung. Instruments included the bassoon, contrabassoon, bass tuba, trumpet, trombone, clarinet, piccolo, oboe, French horn, saxhorn, drums and cymbals. Wieprecht was recognized at the time as a key figure in the reorganization of the Prussian military bands in meticulous, regimented detail and strict rules of conduct, rehearsal and musicianship. The Italian influence on American brass bands is perhaps best demonstrated by Francis Scala, a Naples-born immigrant who led the U.S. Marine Band. He was a clarinetist who always placed his instrument prominently in his band, and is largely responsible for popularizing the instrument in brass bands. Irish bandleader Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore was also influential, having introduced a wide range of reed instruments as well as developing instrumentation that allowed a large wind ensemble to approximate the effects of a full orchestra.

With the coming of the Civil War, the popularity of brass bands continued to grow. Promises of a famous band being attached to a regiment were used to induce recruitment, and the brass band tradition flourished. Following the war, huge peace jubilee concerts were held, where thousands of performers sometimes played.

Creole and Cajun music
The city of New Orleans has long been a center for cultural innovation, and the pre-eminent city of the Gulf Coast. It is fitting, then, that the first major American classical composer was from New Orleans -- Louis Moreau Gottschalk. Gottschalk achieved fame in Europe, the first American composer to do so, and is well-remembered for his fusion of themes from ethnic folk dances in Louisiana into his piano compositions.

With French-Canadians from Acadia, white settlers of Scots-Irish, French and Spanish descent, Native Americans and an abundance of slaves from the West Indies, New Orleans and the surrounding area was a cultural melting pot.

Mexican-Texans
Texas was part of Mexico until the mid-19th century, after the Mexican–American War, and its Mexican-American inhabitants played a mixture of ranchera, bolero and polka music called conjunto. To some extent an American version of accordion-led Mexican música norteña, conjunto was popular throughout Mexican communities in Texas.

Sound samples
Bice'waan Song is a recording from the Library of Congress, collected by Alice Cunningham Fletcher and Francis La Flesche and published in 1897. The singer is George Miller, who was probably born in about 1852. It was described as: "The true love-song, called by the Omaha Bethae waan, an old designation and not a descriptive name, is sung generally in the early morning, when the lover is keeping his tryst and watching for the maiden to emerge from the tent and go to the spring. They belong to the secret courtship and are sometimes called Me-the-g'thun wa-an—courting songs. ... They were sung without drum, bell or rattle, to accent the rhythm, in which these songs is subordinated to tonality and is felt only in the musical phrases. ... Vibrations for the purpose of giving greater expression were not only affected by the tremolo of the voice, but they were enhanced by waving the hand, or a spray of artemesia before the lips, while the body often swayed gently to the rhythm of the song (Fletcher, 1894, p. 156)."

Additional sources

 * PBS' page on their series American Roots Music
 * Essential American Recordings Survey
 * Friends of American roots music homepage
 * Library of Congress collection of brass band materials