RIT's nickname is the "Tigers", a name given following an undefeated basketball season in the 1950s. Prior to that, RIT's athletic teams were called the "Techmen". RIT has 24 men's and women's varsity teams. All
of RIT's teams are in the NCAA's Division III, with the exception of the hockey program,
which will join the Atlantic Hockey Conference starting in 2006. The hockey program will then be RIT's only Division I sport.