Hampton, Virginia · Founded 1868 · Pirates and Lady Pirates
“The Home by the Sea — a private HBCU on a waterfront in Virginia, holding the Standard of Excellence since 1868.”
The Marching Force's 2025 Honda Battle of the Bands performance at SoFi Stadium — rapid tempo changes, concentric-circle drill, official band-channel upload.
The band's 2020 Honda Battle of the Bands show celebrating Black excellence — Ludwig Göransson, DeBarge, Blackstreet, Meek Mill — official band-channel upload.
Hampton's segment (at 1:22) of its first-ever Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade appearance — the school's biggest national stage moment.
WAVY TV 10's local Hampton Roads coverage of the band's Macy's parade debut.
September 2025 battle at SECU Stadium in College Park with the Marching Force going head-to-head against Howard, NC A&T, Norfolk State, VSU, and others.
Full battles and highlights from the 2026 HBCU Week event — Hampton's Marching Force alongside Delaware State, Lincoln, and Virginia State.
From the Yard's video feed.
From the Yard's video feed.
From the Yard's video feed.
From the Yard's video feed.
Class of 1875; educator, orator, and founder of Tuskegee University — between 1890 and 1915 the dominant leader in the African American community.
Class of 1982; Academy Award-winning costume designer (Black Panther) with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Class of 1986; Emmy-winning comedian, actress, and writer.
Class of 2009; actress (Batwoman, God Friended Me) — the first Black actor to wear the Batsuit.
Class of 2002; president of MSNBC — the first African-American to lead a major cable news network.
Class of 1998; president of the NFL's Baltimore Ravens.
Class of 1962; NASA mathematician and aeronautical engineer featured in Hidden Figures; Congressional Gold Medal.
Class of 1942; NASA's first Black female engineer and Hidden Figures figure; namesake of NASA's headquarters building in Washington.
Class of 2006; NASA JPL engineer, lead of planetary protection for the Mars 2020 mission.
Class of 1980; former NBA player (Bullets, Pistons, Nets) and Detroit Shock WNBA head coach.
Class of 2010; track star and two-time Olympic gold medalist.
Class of 1896; founder of the Chicago Defender and the Bud Billiken Day Parade.
Class of 1999; Radio Hall of Fame DJ and host of The Breakfast Club.
Class of 1965; composer and pianist who wrote "To Be Young, Gifted and Black."
Class of 1994; first Black female mayor of St. Louis.
Class of 1986; former president of Oracle Corporation and former chairman/CEO of Infor.
Before there was a Hampton Institute, there was Mary Smith Peake. Hired by the American Missionary Association, she began secretly teaching freedmen outdoors under a massive oak in Elizabeth City County in September 1861. In 1863 the Emancipation Proclamation was read to a gathering under that same tree — the first place in the Confederate states — and it has been called the Emancipation Oak ever since. It is still the symbol of both the university and the city of Hampton.
Former Union brevet Brigadier General Samuel Chapman Armstrong — who had commanded Black troops (the 8th and 9th U.S. Colored Troops) during the Civil War and then worked with the Freedmen's Bureau — founded the school on the grounds of a former plantation called "Little Scotland," overlooking Hampton Roads. It was chartered in 1870 as a land-grant school under its first name, Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute, meant to train freedmen as teachers and skilled workers. Booker T. Washington, class of 1875, is its most famous alumnus; Armstrong's recommendation sent him to found what became Tuskegee University.
Armstrong hired Thomas P. Fenner to build the Hampton Singers (the Hampton Jubilee Singers) after watching the Fisk Jubilee Singers tour raise serious money. Fenner's choir toured widely and raised enough to pay for Virginia Hall, the first women's dormitory, and further 1870s tour money stabilized the school's finances and kept it from closing. Music has been a survival tool at Hampton from the very start.
Among Hampton's earliest students was Booker T. Washington, who arrived from West Virginia in 1872 at age 16 and worked his way through school. He graduated in 1875, returned to teach at Hampton, and in 1881 — on Armstrong's recommendation — left to lead a small school in Tuskegee, Alabama. That school became Tuskegee University, and Washington became the most famous Black educator of his generation. His Hampton classmate Charles W. Greene, also class of 1875, went too, heading Tuskegee's agriculture department.
Hampton started educating Native American students, beginning with seventeen former Fort Marion prisoners of war brought east by Lt. Richard Henry Pratt. At its peak it drew young men and women from Plains tribes alongside the Black student body. The program ended in 1923 amid Jim Crow-era controversy over racial mingling, when some employers began firing Native American men for having been educated with Black students.
The Native American program ended in 1923, after 45 years. Native families stopped sending their sons after employers fired Native men for having been educated alongside Black students, and the program's final director resigned because she could not prevent "amalgamation" between the Native girls and Black boys. Hampton's experiment in biracial education closed in the same decade the South hardened into full segregation.
Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute became simply Hampton Institute in 1930. With new departments and graduate programs added, it became Hampton University in 1984. A 15-acre stretch of the old riverfront campus is a U.S. National Historic Landmark District, listed on the National Register in 1969 and designated a landmark in 1974.
Diplomat and educator Jerome H. Holland led Hampton Institute from 1960 to 1970, steering it through the civil-rights decade. He was succeeded by Roy Davage Hudson (1970–1976) and Carl McClellan Hill (1977–1978).
William R. Harvey took office in 1978 and stayed 44 years — the longest presidency in Hampton's history and one of the longest college presidencies in the country. He boosted enrollment, grew the endowment to roughly $280 million, built academic programs and campus infrastructure, and oversaw the first and only HBCU proton-therapy cancer treatment facility. He retired June 30, 2022.
Coached by James Sweat, Hampton's 1987-88 women's basketball team went 33-1 with a perfect 19-0 CIAA record, averaging 98.9 points per game on a run-and-gun style that shocked the Midwest. In Fargo, North Dakota, the Lady Pirates knocked off host North Dakota State in its own arena 72-63 in the Final Four, then routed West Texas State 65-48 for the program's first national championship. Tournament MVP Jackie Dolberry — the program's all-time leading scorer and a three-time CIAA Player of the Year — starred alongside fellow All-Americans Venise Frazier and Jackie McWilliams; the roster featured four 1,000-point scorers. The title capped Hampton's Division II era with a national crown before the move to Division I in the mid-1990s.
In their first-ever March Madness appearance — just six years after moving to Division I — the No. 15 Pirates met No. 2 Iowa State, a 25-5 Big 12 champion led by future NBA guard Jamaal Tinsley, in Boise on March 15, 2001. Hampton trailed 55-44 late but closed on a 10-0 run: Tarvis Williams — 16 points, 13 rebounds, six blocks — flipped in a floater with 6.9 seconds left for a 58-57 lead, and Tinsley's driving layup rolled off the rim at the buzzer. It was only the fourth 15-over-2 upset in tournament history — and the second by an HBCU after Coppin State in 1997 — and coach Steve Merfeld was hoisted onto his players' shoulders in a celebration replayed every March. Hampton fell to Georgetown in the Round of 32, but the win remains the program's signature victory.
From 2004 to 2006 the Pirates won three straight MEAC championships and three SBN Black College National Championships, ranked in the Division I FCS top 25 every year. They had also won MEAC titles in 1997 and 2005–2006 outright (sharing 1998 and 2004). In 2007 Hampton sent five players to the NFL Combine, the most of any FCS school that year.
The Marching Force marched in Barack Obama's presidential inauguration parade in Washington, D.C. — chosen as the representative marching band for the state of Virginia. It put the band on the national map a decade before its Macy's debut.
In September 2010 the Hampton University Proton Therapy Institute treated its first patient, opening as the largest free-standing proton therapy center in the world and only the eighth such center in the United States. The $225 million facility was President William R. Harvey's brainchild, born of the alarmingly high prostate cancer rates in neighboring underserved Black communities. It was — and remains — the first proton therapy center owned and operated by an HBCU.
Hampton became the first and only HBCU to field a Division I men's lacrosse team. ESPN broadcast from campus ahead of the inaugural game at Armstrong Stadium. Hampton is also the only HBCU with a competitive sailing team — the waterfront is part of the identity.
On November 16, 2017, Hampton announced it was leaving the MEAC for the Big South Conference — a seismic move for an HBCU flagship. The Pirates played 2018 as an FCS independent, and the transition was rocky: the MEAC made it tough for Hampton to schedule former conference opponents, and the Battle of the Bay with Norfolk State went on ice for three seasons. Hampton began Big South play in 2019.
In 2018 students launched a campus protest calling on the administration to fix what they called longstanding and urgent problems — food quality, living conditions, and the handling of sexual assault complaints. The university responded that it was "moving forward" to address the concerns. It was the loudest student uprising of the Harvey era, and a reminder that even the Standard of Excellence answers to its students.
On July 28, 2020, philanthropist MacKenzie Scott gave Hampton $30 million — the largest single gift in school history, part of her $1.7 billion wave of giving. President William R. Harvey had sole discretion over the money and split it three ways: $10 million to the Proton Therapy Institute, $10 million for scholarships to students demonstrating character, and $10 million for campus physical-plant and technology upgrades. The same year brought a painful contrast: the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education withdrew the School of Pharmacy's accreditation — on probation since July 2017, citing student-progression and assessment noncompliance, with only a 73% first-time NAPLEX pass rate in 2018. Hampton sued the agency in July 2020, calling the process 'bizarrely contradictory and Kafkaesque' and alleging racial bias, but a federal judge in Virginia dismissed the case and the appeal failed — a bitter blow for what the school called the second-largest producer of African-American pharmacists in the country.
Selected from more than 100 applicants, the Marching Force marched in the 95th Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade — its first appearance, deferred a year by the pandemic. The band played a medley of Kool & the Gang's "Celebration" and Sister Sledge's "We Are Family." Pepsi Stronger Together put up $100,000 for transportation and practice uniforms, and Hampton alum DJ Envy surprised the band in New York.
Retired U.S. Army three-star Lt. Gen. Darrell K. Williams — Hampton class of 1983, former head of the Defense Logistics Agency and a Leidos executive — took office July 1, 2022 after William R. Harvey's retirement. His 2023 investiture was the school's first in 45 years. Athletically, Hampton moved to the Coastal Athletic Association in 2022, leaving the MEAC and Big South behind — one of only three Division I HBCUs outside the MEAC and SWAC.
The Marching Force brought its 'Travel Show: I-95 Edition' to the 2025 Honda Battle of the Bands on February 1 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California — the event's first-ever West Coast showcase, hosted by Nick Cannon. Hampton earned its slot by fan vote as one of the final two bands selected, joining Alabama A&M, Alabama State, NC A&T, Southern, and UAPB before tens of thousands of fans. The show's East Coast-to-South musical journey — New York, Philadelphia, D.C., Virginia, Georgia, Florida — featured rapid-fire tempo changes and a signature sequence with the full band rotating in concentric circles, a formation that took 200-plus hours to perfect. It was the band's third Honda BOTB appearance (2018, 2020, 2025), and Honda awarded each participating school a $50,000 grant for music education.
After a 2–10 season in 2025 ended Trent Boykin's two-year run, Director of Athletics Anthony D. Henderson Sr. named Van Malone the 23rd head football coach in Hampton history on December 12, 2025. A Houston native, Malone brings 23 years of collegiate experience — 18 at the Power 4 level — including the last seven seasons as Kansas State's assistant head coach, pass game coordinator, and defensive backs coach, during which the Wildcats went 53-34 with five bowl invitations. Before coaching, Malone was a defensive back at Texas (1990-93), a 1990 freshman All-American and 1993 All-Southwest Conference pick, then a second-round NFL draft pick who played for the Detroit Lions (1994-97) and Arizona Cardinals. Named the 2017 National FBS Assistant Coach of the Year with 15 bowl games on his résumé, he inherits a program chasing a return to Hampton's seven Black College National championships and 19 conference titles.
The 'Battle of the Real HU' is one of the oldest and most storied rivalries in HBCU football, dating to a 1908 first meeting that Hampton won 6–0. The two schools have met more than 100 times; Hampton holds a 58–44–1 edge in the all-time series per the universities' 2026 announcements, including a 14-game Hampton win streak from 1997 to 2010. Since 2021 the game has been staged at Audi Field in Washington, D.C. — debuting as the 'Truth and Service Classic' (Hampton won the inaugural 48–22 on Sept. 18, 2021) and rebranded as the Battle of the Real HU, with the 101st meeting set for Oct. 3, 2026.
Hampton vs. Norfolk State is the Hampton Roads grudge match — private school against public school, about 15 miles apart across the James River, in a series that began Oct. 19, 1963, with Norfolk State winning 42–0. The 'Battle of the Bay' name was coined in 1988 by HU sports information director LeCounte Conaway and NSU's John Holley, and the teams played every year from 1963 to 2017; Norfolk State leads 31–29–1 through 61 meetings. The series went on ice when Hampton left the MEAC for the Big South, then resumed Oct. 23, 2021, at Armstrong Stadium — and the 64th edition in 2025 had NFL legend Michael Vick coaching the Spartans in his first year.
In 2019 Hampton revived its rivalry with Virginia Union University, the Richmond HBCU. The matchup brings back a historic Virginia Black-college football series that had gone quiet for years.
🥁 The Marching Force
The Marching Force is a predominantly female marching band known as "The Beast from the East," "The Smartest Band in the Land," and "The Ivy League of Marching Bands." Auxiliaries: Ebony Fire dancers, Silky flags, Sticky Situation drumline, the Black Diamond management team, Hi-Def media team, and since 2018 the Shimmering Sapphire Elegance majorettes. Signature moments: Obama's 2009 inauguration parade, the Rose Parade 2019 drumline trip, the Rome New Year's Day Parade 2020, and the 2021 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade debut. Note: I could not verify the exact founding year of the band program or who directed between Smart's death in 2004 and Jones's arrival, so those are omitted rather than guessed.
Led Hampton's band before leaving for Ohio University, where he became director of the Marching 110 — one of the first African American band directors at a major White university.
Directly succeeded Young and grew the band dramatically in size and performance quality; alumni describe him as a musical genius and surrogate father. Died in 2004. The summer All-Star Band Camp bears his name (29th annual in 2026).
Hampton alumnus — trombone and trumpet, then drum major. Born in the Philippines and raised across Texas, New Jersey, South Dakota, North Carolina, and Virginia; former arranger and drill writer for the Brooklyn "Steppers," later chief music arranger and media coordinator for NC A&T's marching program. Army Reserve veteran with combat deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Djibouti; holds a Ph.D. in Leadership Studies from NC A&T. Led the band to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade 2021, the Rome New Year's Day Parade 2020, and Honda Battle of the Bands 2018, 2020, and 2025.
Hampton has more than 15 Greek-letter organizations, and per the Student Handbook 2025–26 all nine NPHC organizations have chapters on campus since 1947, alongside Groove Phi Groove and Swing Phi Swing and professional fraternities. The yard runs deep — President Darrell K. Williams himself is an Alpha Phi Alpha man. Hampton's homecoming is the yard's biggest stage every year. Phi Beta Sigma and Iota Phi Theta are confirmed present but their chapter names could not be verified.
Still digging this up — check back soon.
The 15-acre riverfront core of campus — Virginia Hall, the Wigwam, Academy Building, Marquand Memorial Chapel, the Mansion House — was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, then declared a National Historic Landmark District in 1974.
The Scripps Howard Foundation committed $10 million to open a new journalism and communications school at Hampton, including a new 36,000-square-foot academic building with broadcast studios, a TV studio, a radio station, and computer labs. Dedicated September 25, 2002, the partnership was built to pipeline Black journalists into the nation's newsrooms.
Opened the Hampton University Proton Therapy Institute — the largest free-standing proton therapy facility in the world at the time, and the first and only proton therapy cancer treatment center owned and operated by an HBCU. The $225 million project spanned 98,000 square feet with five treatment rooms and treated its first patient in September 2010; by its 15th anniversary in 2025 it had treated more than 4,000 patients from around the globe.
The main library is named for the longtime president and his wife; the campus also holds architecture, music, and nursing libraries.
Under President Williams the campus shifted from steam to a district water system for heating and cooling, cutting the carbon footprint and energy costs. The work began in January 2022 and ran through the multi-year renovation wave.
Moton Hall was converted from traditional dormitory rooms to suite-style living, adding a fitness center, gaming room, and cafe. It was the flagship dorm transformation of the Williams-era renovation wave.
More than 20 major projects were initiated or completed: 20+ renovated residence halls and classrooms, new simulation labs, upgraded study spaces, plus refreshed Clarke Hall, Armstrong Hall, the Little Theater, and Dett Auditorium, and new fitness rooms in Harkness, Holmes, White, and Twitchell Halls.
Armstrong Stadium — home of Pirates football and the Marching Force — received significant improvements as part of the campus-wide upgrade wave.
Dining got its own overhaul: The Grill, the beloved student gathering spot, reopened; the Milk & Honey restaurant franchise arrived on campus; and robotic food delivery was introduced.
During President Williams's 2023 investiture week, the Hampton University Museum — founded in 1868, the oldest African diaspora museum in the U.S. and the oldest museum in Virginia, holding 9,000+ pieces — cut the ribbon on its addition, including a commissioned work by Preston Sampson.
Notable faculty: Viktor Lowenfeld — the Austrian-American psychologist and author of the landmark art-education text Creative and Mental Growth — joined Hampton's faculty in 1945 as an assistant professor of industrial arts and became chair of the Art Department. Coaches for men's and women's basketball and other programs were not verified and are omitted.
13th president; took office July 1, 2022.
Senior academic officer; listed as both provost and chancellor in the university's public records.
Ran the 2025 coaching search that brought in Van Malone.
Named 23rd head football coach Dec. 12, 2025; Houston native, former Texas and Detroit Lions safety, 18 years of Power 4 coaching.
The campus sits on 314 acres of waterfront on the Hampton River near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, and it feels like it — sailboats, the historic riverfront, and a campus where students still dress for class. It's a selective, private school of about 4,700 students: nearly two-thirds women, 97% Black, 10-to-1 student-faculty ratio. About 68% of students get need-based financial aid. The Hampton Script is the student newspaper, and there are more than 55 student organizations.