The Pitt Panthers are the men's basketball NCAA Division I team that play for the University of Pittsburgh. Their home court is the Petersen Events Center and they are key members of the Big East Conference. They have established several rivalries throughout their time in the division, including their fierce rivalry against West Virginia University in the basketball version of the Backyard Brawl. This rivalry spills over from the two schools football rivalry. Another notable rivalry is with cross-town team Duquesne University in the City Game which was at its peak in the late 1970s and early 1980s but competitiveness has diminished with the two teams each playing in separate conferences now. Pitt and UConn also maintain a healthy competitive rivalry from playing against each other in the Big East Tournament championship games in 2002, 2003 and 2004.
Along with big rivalries, the Pitt Panthers are also notorious for their student section, The Oakland Zoo, who have become known as one of the most daunting student cheering sections in college basketball. Independently formed by students in 2001, the initial reasoning for the Zoo came from students determining their student section was too tame. The name came from the neighborhood the university is located in, Oakland, and Zoo is meant to represent "a bunch of kids in a zoo acting crazy". Students wore gold t-shirts and eventually grew in size to fill the majority of the team's home court. Though the group was initially denied official sponsorship from the school in 2001, they are now officially recognized with over 2,000 members.
Their antics have been profiled in The Wall Street Journal and even shown on ESPN. According to a poll from Sports Illustrated, the Oakland Zoo has contributed in making the Petersen Events Center the Big East Conference's "Toughest Place to Play". Students heckle players from the other team and some even dress in animal-themed costumes to go with the "zoo" motif. Though the students can be vicious to the visiting team and their players with cheers and chants, the Zoo was an integral piece of the puzzle that created the Inspiring Pitt Pride Committee that won recognition for the school being one of the institutions to receive the Division I Athletic Directors Association's "Sportsmanship Recognition Award" in 2006.
The Pitt Panthers live up to the hype created by their rivalries and notorious student section with some great stats over the years. Pitt appeared in 29 national post-season tournaments, including 53 games total with a combined record of 24-29. The Panthers longest successive streak of post-season national tournaments is from 2001-current. The Panthers have also played in 43 total NCAA Tournament games with a record of 23-22. They have reached the Final Four once, the Elite Eight three times and the Sweet Sixteen seven times, including in 2009. Pitt has also played in the post-season National Invitational Tournament eight times, appearing in 14 games with a NIT record of 6-8. The Panthers have had great successes in the Big East Tournament Championship game, playing seven out of the last 9 seasons and winning in the 2007-08 season. The Panthers are also the one and only team in the Big East Conference history to reach the conference championship games seven times in right seasons from 2001-2008.
