Because of the Pittsburgh Renaissance urban renewal project, it was convenient to coin the "Rens" as an instantly-recognizable name for this new version of a basketball team.

Those two expansion teams were announced on May 10, 1960, with the locales in Pittsburgh and Portland, with future possibilities in Honolulu, Salt Lake City and Vancouver.

The Rens were owned by Ray (aka Archie), Eugene and Lenny Litman, prominent Pittsburgh businessmen brothers, along with local insurance executive Oscar (Sparky) Adams.

Ray Litman, who had made his mark as a fight promoter, had fruitlessly sought to obtain an NBA franchise for Pittsburgh before turning to the ABL.

Litman was on the verge of moving the team to Houston when Pittsburgh's proposed NBA owner John H. Harris dropped out less than 24 hours after he'd been chosen by the league.

He had been initially banned by the National Basketball Association after being named, but not criminally charged in the 1961 point shaving scandal while he played at the University of Iowa.