Pittsburgh has long been a considered a hotbed for ultimate, with strong youth programs and adult club teams.

A Pittsburgh-based franchise for the AUDL was announced via a private Pittsburgh ultimate Facebook group in June 2014, under the ownership of Dr. Tracy Neuendorf.

[1] Gardner and others polled local players and fans at MARS (Pittsburgh's annual mixed Ultimate tournament) with slips of paper listing eighteen potential names.

The Thunderbirds would go on to lose the Midwest Championship, 24–21 after Tyler DeGirolamo exited the game with a recurring leg injury.

The Thunderbirds qualified for their third consecutive playoff appearance with a 7-4, once again defeating the Minnesota Wind Chill in the opening round and losing to the Madison Radicals in the Division Finals.

On November 13, 2017, Thunderbirds' player Pat Hammonds was announced as the new head coach, succeeding David Hogan.

[4] In the opening round of the 2019 playoffs, the Thunderbirds defeated the Chicago Wildfire 21-20 to advance to their fourth Midwest Finals appearance in five seasons, where they lost to the Indianapolis AlleyCats 23-17.

[7] Prior to the start of the 2022 season, the Thunderbirds announced a partnership with the Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC of the USL Championship.