Hampton Pirates and Lady Pirates

A member of the Coastal Athletic Association, Hampton sponsors teams in eight men's and nine women's NCAA sanctioned sports. The school also sponsors a co-ed varsity sailing team, but sailing is not an NCAA sanctioned sport. The lacrosse team competes as an independent. On November 16, 2017, Hampton announced they would be leaving the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference to join the Big South Conference. Hampton is one of three Division I HBCU (after Tennessee State University of the Ohio Valley Conference and North Carolina A&T State of the Coastal Athletic Association) to be a member of a conference other than the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference or Southwestern Athletic Conference.' In 2022, Hampton joined the Coastal Athletic Association. == Teams ==

Hampton has two main rivals: Howard University, also known as The Real HU rivalry, and Norfolk State University, also known as the Battle of the Bay. During Hampton's switch from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference to the Big South Conference, both rivalries were put on hold. In September 2019, Hampton revived their rivalry with Howard during the Chicago Football Classic. The rivalry with Norfolk State resumed on October 2, 2021. ==References==