History UsefulNotes / Nashville

* Tennessee State Tigers (Tennessee State University) – Represents the city's largest historically black university. Member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC), including for [[UsefulNotes/CollegiateAmericanFootballConferences FCS]] (second-level) football. For more than 30 years (1986–2018), it was [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg the only HBCU]][[note]]initialism for "historically black colleges and universities", a designation officially used by the U.S. government for such schools)[[/note]] in Division I in a conference consisting mostly of non-[=HBCUs=].[[note]]TSU lost its "Zoidberg" status when Hampton left the MEAC (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) for the Big South Conference; North Carolina A&T made the same move as Hampton in July 2021. Both moved to the Colonial (now Coastal) Athletic Association in 2022; Hampton also joined that conference's technically separate football league, CAA Football, at that time, while NCAT didn't join CAA Football until 2023. All other [=HBCUs=] in Division I are members of either the MEAC or Southwestern Athletic Conference, whose full members are all historically black schools.[[/note]]

Nashville is the home of the Tennessee Titans [[UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague NFL]] team (named in a reference to the classical auspices of the city), the Nashville Predators [[UsefulNotes/NationalHockeyLeague NHL]] team (named in reference to the saber-toothed tiger fossils found beneath the city), the Nashville Sounds UsefulNotes/MinorLeagueBaseball team (named in reference to the country music industry), and the most recent addition, Nashville SC in UsefulNotes/MajorLeagueSoccer. The MLS team started play in 2020, taking over the name and history of the city's former team in the second-level USL Championship. The odd one out is UsefulNotes/MajorLeagueBaseball, but the common prediction is that Music City will eventually get a team in the next expansion (Nashville currently has a bid ongoing, and MLB's 2023 winter meetings were held there). The city is also home to four UsefulNotes/{{NCAA}} Division I programs:

Nashville is the home of the Tennessee Titans [[UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague NFL]] team (named in a reference to the classical auspices of the city), the Nashville Predators [[UsefulNotes/NationalHockeyLeague NHL]] team (named in reference to the saber-toothed tiger fossils found beneath the city), the Nashville Sounds minor league baseball team (named in reference to the country music industry), and the most recent addition, Nashville SC in UsefulNotes/MajorLeagueSoccer. The MLS team started play in 2020, taking over the name and history of the city's former team in the second-level USL Championship. Music City is also home to four UsefulNotes/{{NCAA}} Division I programs:
* Vanderbilt Commodores (Vanderbilt University) — The city's best-known program by far, seeing that it's the only one that has an FBS (top-level) football team. Affectionately known as "Vandy" and a charter member of the Southeastern Conference.
* Tennessee State Tigers (Tennessee State University) – Represents the city's largest historically black university. Member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC), including for FCS (second-level) football. For more than 30 years (1986–2018), it was [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg the only HBCU]][[note]]initialism for "historically black colleges and universities", a designation officially used by the U.S. government for such schools)[[/note]] in Division I in a conference consisting mostly of non-[=HBCUs=].[[note]]TSU lost its "Zoidberg" status when Hampton left the MEAC (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) for the Big South Conference; North Carolina A&T made the same move as Hampton in July 2021. Both moved to the Colonial (now Coastal) Athletic Association in 2022; Hampton also joined that conference's technically separate football league, CAA Football, at that time, while NCAT didn't join CAA Football until 2023. All other [=HBCUs=] in Division I are members of either the MEAC or Southwestern Athletic Conference, whose full members are all historically black schools.[[/note]]

* Tennessee State Tigers (Tennessee State University) – Represents the city's largest historically black university. Member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC), including for FCS (second-level) football. For more than 30 years (1986–2018), it was [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg the only HBCU]][[note]]initialism for "historically black colleges and universities", a designation officially used by the U.S. government for such schools)[[/note]] in Division I in a conference consisting mostly of non-[=HBCUs=].[[note]]TSU lost its "Zoidberg" status when Hampton left the MEAC (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) for the Big South Conference; North Carolina A&T made the same move as Hampton in July 2021. Both moved to the Colonial (now Coastal) Athletic Association in 2022; Hampton also joined that conference's technically separate football league, CAA Football, at that time. NCAT won't join CAA Football until 2023. All other [=HBCUs=] in Division I are members of either the MEAC or Southwestern Athletic Conference, whose full members are all historically black schools.[[/note]]

* Tennessee State Tigers (Tennessee State University) – Represents the city's largest historically black university. Member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC), including for FCS (second-level) football. For more than 30 years (1986–2018), it was [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg the only HBCU]][[note]]initialism for "historically black colleges and universities", a designation officially used by the U.S. government for such schools)[[/note]] in Division I in a conference consisting mostly of non-[=HBCUs=].[[note]]TSU lost its "Zoidberg" status when Hampton left the MEAC (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) for the Big South Conference; North Carolina A&T made the same move as Hampton in July 2021. Both moved to the Colonial Athletic Association in 2022; Hampton also joined that conference's technically separate football league, CAA Football, at that time. NCAT won't join CAA Football until 2023. All other [=HBCUs=] in Division I are members of either the MEAC or Southwestern Athletic Conference, whose full members are all historically black schools.[[/note]]

* Lipscomb Bisons (Lipscomb University) – Another non-football school, affiliated with the Churches of Christ and members of the ASUN[[note]]abbreviated from the former name of Atlantic Sun; the initialism is pronounced "A-Sun"[[/note]] Conference. The Belmont rivalry is generally known as the "Battle of the Boulevard"; the two schools are less than 3 miles (5 km) apart on Belmont Boulevard. The men's and women's basketball teams play twice a year; almost every other non-conference rivalry in the sport is played once a year at most.