Sports in the United States by state

Professional teams

Team	Sport	League
Delaware Black Foxes	Rugby	USA Rugby League
Delaware Blue Coats	Basketball	NBA G League
Delaware Thunder	Hockey	Federal Prospects Hockey League
Diamond State Roller Girls	Roller derby	Women's Flat Track Derby Association
Wilmington Blue Rocks	Baseball	Carolina League

As Delaware has no franchises in the major American professional sports leagues, many Delawareans follow either Philadelphia or Baltimore teams. In the WNBA, the Washington Mystics enjoy a major following due to the presence of Wilmington native and University of Delaware product Elena Delle Donne. The University of Delaware's football team has a large following throughout the state, with the Delaware State University and Wesley College teams also enjoying a smaller degree of support.

Delaware is home to Dover International Speedway and Dover Downs. DIS, also known as the Monster Mile, is one of only 10 tracks in the nation to have hosted 100 or more NASCAR Cup Series races. Dover Downs is a popular harness racing facility. It is the only co-located horse- and car-racing facility in the nation, with the Dover Downs track located inside the DIS track.

Delaware is represented in rugby by the Delaware Black Foxes, a 2015 expansion club.

Delaware has been home to professional wrestling outfit Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW). CZW has been affiliated with the annual Tournament of Death and ECWA with its annual Super 8 Tournament.

Delaware's official state sport is bicycling.[21]

Maryland has a number of major and minor professional sports franchises. Two National Football League teams play in Maryland, the Baltimore Ravens in Baltimore and the Washington Football Team in Prince George's County. The Baltimore Orioles compete as Major League Baseball franchise in Baltimore.

Other professional sports franchises in the state include five affiliated minor league baseball teams, one independent league baseball team, the Baltimore Blast indoor soccer team, two indoor football teams, two low-level Basketball teams, three low-level outdoor soccer teams and the Chesapeake Bayhawks of Major League Lacrosse.

The Congressional Country Club and Aronimink Golf Club have hosted several professional golf tournaments, including the U.S. Open, PGA Championship, U.S. Senior Open, Senior PGA Championship, Kemper Open and Quicken Loans National.

Maryland has had famous athletes including baseball's Al Kaline of the Detroit Tigers, Orioles' Cal Ripken Jr. and George Herman ("Babe") Ruth, who played for the old Orioles, Boston Red Sox, and especially won fame with the New York Yankees. Plus Olympic swimming medalists Michael Phelps and Katie Hoff.Since 1962, the official state sport of Maryland is jousting. Lacrosse was named the official team sport in 2004,[22] and Sports Illustrated wrote the sport "has always been the showcase for the flower of Maryland manhood."[23] In 2008, intending to promote physical fitness for all ages, Maryland declared walking the official state exercise and became the first state with an official state exercise.[24]

Sports in Massachusetts have a long history with both amateur athletics and professional teams. Most of the major professional teams have won multiple championships in their respective leagues. Massachusetts teams have won 6 Stanley Cups (Boston Bruins),[25] 17 NBA Championships (Boston Celtics),[26] 6 Super Bowls (New England Patriots),[27] and 10 World Series (9 Boston Red Sox, 1 Boston Braves).[28] Early basketball and volleyball was created in Massachusetts, which homes the Basketball Hall of Fame (Springfield),[29] and the Volleyball Hall of Fame (Holyoke).[29] Massachusetts also houses the Cape Cod Baseball League. It is also home to prestigious sports events such as the Boston Marathon and the Head of the Charles Regatta. The Falmouth Road Race in running and the Fitchburg Longsjo Classic in bicycle racing are also very popular events with long histories.

The PGA Tour Deutsche Bank Championship is a regular professional golf tour stop in the state. Massachusetts has played host to nine U.S. Opens, four U.S. Women's Opens, two Ryder Cups, and one U.S. Senior Open.

Many colleges and universities in Massachusetts are active in college athletics. There are a number of NCAA Division I members in the state for multiple sports: Boston College, Boston University, Northeastern University, Harvard University, College of the Holy Cross, University of Massachusetts Amherst, and the University of Massachusetts Lowell.

The following sports teams are based in New Hampshire:

Club	Sport	Venue	League	Level	notes
Amoskeag Rugby Club	Rugby Union	Northeast Athletic Club, Pembroke	New England Rugby Football Union	Amateur
Nashua Silver Knights	Baseball	Holman Stadium, Nashua	Futures Collegiate Baseball League	Collegiate summer baseball
New Hampshire Fisher Cats	Baseball	Northeast Delta Dental Stadium, Manchester	Eastern League	Professional	Double-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays
Seacoast United Phantoms	Soccer	Amesbury Sports Park	USL League Two	Semi-professional	Based in Portsmouth, plays home games in nearby Amesbury, Massachusetts

The New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon is an oval track and road course which has been visited by national motorsport championship series such as the NASCAR Cup Series, the NASCAR Xfinity Series, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, American Canadian Tour (ACT), the Champ Car and the IndyCar Series. Other motor racing venues include Star Speedway and New England Dragway in Epping, Lee Speedway in Lee, Twin State Speedway in Claremont, Monadnock Speedway in Winchester and Canaan Fair Speedway in Canaan.

New Hampshire has two universities competing at the NCAA Division I in all collegiate sports: the Dartmouth Big Green (Ivy League) and the New Hampshire Wildcats (America East Conference), as well as three NCAA Division II teams: Franklin Pierce Ravens, Saint Anselm Hawks and Southern New Hampshire Penmen (Northeast-10 Conference). Most other schools compete in NCAA Division III or the NAIA.

Annually since 2002, high-school statewide all-stars compete against Vermont in ten sports during "Twin State" playoffs.[30]

New York has two Major League Baseball teams, the New York Yankees (based in the Bronx) and the New York Mets (based in Queens). New York is home to three National Hockey League franchises: the New York Rangers in Manhattan, the New York Islanders in Long Island and the Buffalo Sabres in Buffalo. New York has two National Basketball Association teams, the New York Knicks in Manhattan, and the Brooklyn Nets in Brooklyn. New York has one Major League Soccer team: New York City FC. Although the New York Red Bulls represent the New York metropolitan area they play in Red Bull Arena, located in Harrison, New Jersey.

New York is the home of one National Football League team, the Buffalo Bills (based in the suburb of Orchard Park). Although the New York Giants and New York Jets represent the New York metropolitan area and were previously located in New York City, they play in MetLife Stadium, located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and both have their headquarters and training facilities in New Jersey. The Meadowlands stadium hosted Super Bowl XLVIII in 2014, in which New York and New Jersey shared hosting duties.

There are a variety of minor league teams and leagues throughout the State of New York. The American Hockey League has five of its 30 teams in upstate New York. Baseball leagues that include New York in their territory include the class AAA International League (three teams), class AA Eastern League (the Binghamton Rumble Ponies), short-season Class A New York–Penn League (seven teams), independent professional Atlantic League (the Long Island Ducks), and amateur baseball leagues such as the New York Collegiate Baseball League, the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League and the Southwestern New York Men's Baseball League. Most of New York's teams below the AAA level are slated for a mass shutdown in 2020 as part of a reorganization plan proposed for minor league baseball.[39] Indoor American football has historically had very little presence in New York State compared to elsewhere, with only the Rochester Raiders currently playing as of 2014; a thriving amateur outdoor circuit with several leagues plays primarily in the summer months.

Numerous college sports teams play in New York State at all levels; the Division III State University of New York Athletic Conference and Empire 8 consist almost entirely of New York-based teams.

Pennsylvania is home to many major league professional sports teams: the Philadelphia Phillies and Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball, the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League, the Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League, and the Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer. Among them, these teams have accumulated 7 World Series Championships (Pirates 5, Phillies 2), 16 National League Pennants (Pirates 9, Phillies 7), 3 pre-Super Bowl era NFL Championships (Eagles), 7 Super Bowl Championships (Steelers 6, Eagles 1), 2 NBA Championships (76ers), and 7 Stanley Cups (Penguins 5, Flyers 2).

Pennsylvania also has minor league and semi-pro sports teams: the Triple-A baseball Lehigh Valley IronPigs and the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders of the International League; the Double-A baseball Altoona Curve, Erie SeaWolves, Harrisburg Senators, and Reading Fightin Phils of the Eastern League; the Class A-Short Season baseball State College Spikes and Williamsport Crosscutters of the New York–Penn League; the independent baseball Lancaster Barnstormers and York Revolution of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball; the independent baseball Washington Wild Things of the Frontier League; the Erie BayHawks of the NBA G League; the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, and Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League; the Reading Royals and of the ECHL; and the Philadelphia Soul of the Arena Football League. Among them, these teams have accumulated 12 triple and double-A baseball league titles (RailRiders 1, Senators 6, Fightin Phils 4 Curve 1), 3 Arena Bowl Championships (Soul), and 11 Calder Cups (Bears).

The first World Series between the Boston Pilgrims (which became the Boston Red Sox) and Pittsburgh Pirates was played in Pittsburgh in 1903. Since 1959, the Little League World Series is held each summer in South Williamsport, near where Little League Baseball was founded in Williamsport.[40]

Soccer is gaining popularity within the state as well. With the addition of the Philadelphia Union in the MLS, the state now boasts three teams that are eligible to compete for the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup annually. The other two teams are Philadelphia Union II and the Pittsburgh Riverhounds. However, Penn FC (formally Harrisburg City Islanders) used to be one of these teams before they announced they'd be on hiatus in 2019; although they would be returning for the 2020 season.[41] Both of the United Soccer League (USL). Within the American Soccer Pyramid, the MLS takes the first tier, while the USL-2 claims the third tier.

Arnold Palmer, one of the 20th century's most notable pro golfers, comes from Latrobe, while Jim Furyk, a current PGA member, grew up near in Lancaster. PGA tournaments in Pennsylvania include the 84 Lumber Classic, played at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort, in Farmington and the Northeast Pennsylvania Classic, played at Glenmaura National Golf Club, in Moosic.

Philadelphia is home to LOVE Park, once a popular spot for skateboarding, and across from City Hall, host to ESPN's X Games in 2001 and 2002.[42]

Professional

The Pawtucket Red Sox play at McCoy Stadium

Rhode Island has two professional sports teams, both of which are top-level minor league affiliates for teams in Boston. The Pawtucket Red Sox baseball team of the Triple-A International League are an affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. They play at McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket and have won four league titles, the Governors' Cup, in 1973, 1984, 2012, and 2014. McCoy Stadium also has the distinction of being home to the longest professional baseball game ever played – 33 innings.

The other professional minor league team is the Providence Bruins ice hockey team of the American Hockey League, who are an affiliate of the Boston Bruins. They play in the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence and won the AHL's Calder Cup during the 1998–99 AHL season.

The Providence Reds were a hockey team that played in the Canadian-American Hockey League (CAHL) between 1926 and 1936 and the American Hockey League (AHL) from 1936 to 1977, the last season of which they played as the Rhode Island Reds. The team won the Calder Cup in 1938, 1940, 1949, and 1956. The Reds played at the Rhode Island Auditorium, located on North Main Street in Providence, Rhode Island from 1926 through 1972, when the team affiliated with the New York Rangers and moved into the newly built Providence Civic Center. The team name came from the rooster known as the Rhode Island Red. They moved to New York in 1977, then to Connecticut in 1997, and are now called the Hartford Wolf Pack.

The Reds are the oldest continuously operating minor-league hockey franchise in North America, having fielded a team in one form or another since 1926 in the CAHL. It is also the only AHL franchise to have never missed a season. The AHL returned to Providence in 1992 in the form of the Providence Bruins.

1884 Baseball Champion Providence Grays

Before the great expansion of athletic teams all over the country, Providence and Rhode Island in general played a great role in supporting teams. The Providence Grays won the first World Championship in baseball history in 1884. The team played their home games at the old Messer Street Field in Providence. The Grays played in the National League from 1878 to 1885. They defeated the New York Metropolitans of the American Association in a best of five game series at the Polo Grounds in New York. Providence won three straight games to become the first champions in major league baseball history. Babe Ruth played for the minor league Providence Grays of 1914 and hit his only official minor league home run for that team before being recalled by the Grays' parent club, the Boston Red Stockings.

The now-defunct professional football team the Providence Steam Roller won the 1928 NFL title. They played in a 10,000 person stadium called the Cycledrome.[43] The Providence Steamrollers played in the Basketball Association of America which became the National Basketball Association.

Rhode Island is also home to a top semi-professional soccer club, the Rhode Island Reds, which compete in the National premier soccer league, in the fourth division of U.S. Soccer.

Rhode Island is home to one top level non-minor league team, the Rhode Island Rebellion rugby league team, a semi-professional rugby league team that competes in the USA Rugby League, the Top Competition in the United States for the Sport of Rugby League.[44][45] The Rebellion play their home games at Classical High School in Providence.[46]

Current professional teams

Professional Team	League	Sport	Venue	City	Established	Championships
Pawtucket Red Sox	International League (IHL)	Baseball	McCoy Stadium	Pawtucket, Rhode Island	1970	4
Providence Bruins	American Hockey League (AHL)	Ice hockey	Dunkin' Donuts Center	Providence, Rhode Island	1987	1
USLC Rhode Island	USL Championship (USLC)	Soccer	Riptide Stadium	Pawtucket, Rhode Island	2020	0

Current semi-professional teams

Semi-Professional Team	League	Sport	Venue	City	Established	Championships
Rhode Island Rebellion	USA Rugby League (USARL)	Rugby union	Marvel Field	Providence, Rhode Island	2011	0
Rhode Island Reds FC	National Premier Soccer League (NPSL)	Soccer	Brown University	Providence, Rhode Island	2012	0
Rhode Island Reds FC	Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL)	Soccer	Bayside Field	Bristol, Rhode Island	2012	0

Collegiate and amateur sports

University of Rhode Island's Meade Stadium in Kingston

There are four NCAA Division I schools in Rhode Island. All four schools compete in different conferences. The Brown University Bears compete in the Ivy League, the Bryant University Bulldogs compete in the Northeast Conference, the Providence College Friars compete in the Big East Conference, and the University of Rhode Island Rams compete in the Atlantic-10 Conference. Three of the schools' football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision, the second-highest level of college football in the United States. Brown plays FCS football in the Ivy League, Bryant plays FCS football in the Northeast Conference, and Rhode Island plays FCS football in the Colonial Athletic Association. All four of the Division I schools in the state compete in an intrastate all-sports competition known as the Ocean State Cup, with Bryant winning the most recent cup in 2011–12 academic year.

From 1930 to 1983, America's Cup races were sailed off Newport, and the extreme-sport X Games and Gravity Games were founded and hosted in the state's capital city.

The International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport

The International Tennis Hall of Fame is in Newport at the Newport Casino, site of the first U.S. National Championships in 1881. The Hall of Fame and Museum were established in 1954 by James Van Alen as "a shrine to the ideals of the game".

Rhode Island is also home to the headquarters of the governing body for youth rugby league in the United States, the American Youth Rugby League Association or AYRLA. The AYRLA has started the first-ever Rugby League youth competition in Providence Middle Schools, a program at the RI Training School, in addition to starting the first High School Competition in the US in Providence Public High School.[47]

Washington is one of 13 cities in the United States with teams from all four major professional men's sports and is home to one major professional women's team. The Washington Wizards (National Basketball Association) and the Washington Capitals (National Hockey League) play at the Capital One Arena in Chinatown. The Washington Mystics (Women's National Basketball Association) play in the St. Elizabeths East Entertainment and Sports Arena. Nationals Park, which opened in Southeast D.C. in 2008, is home to the Washington Nationals (Major League Baseball). D.C. United (Major League Soccer) plays at Audi Field. The Washington Football Team (National Football League) plays at FedExField in nearby Landover, Maryland.

D.C. teams have won a combined thirteen professional league championships: the Washington Football Team (then named the Washington Redskins) have won five (including three Super Bowls during the 1980s);[58] D.C. United has won four;[59] and the Washington Wizards (then the Washington Bullets), Washington Capitals, Washington Mystics and Washington Nationals have each won a single championship.[60][61]

Other professional and semi-professional teams in Washington include: DC Defenders (XFL), Old Glory DC (Major League Rugby), the Washington Kastles (World TeamTennis); the Washington D.C. Slayers (USA Rugby League); the Baltimore Washington Eagles (U.S. Australian Football League); the D.C. Divas (Independent Women's Football League); and the Potomac Athletic Club RFC (Rugby Super League). The William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center in Rock Creek Park hosts the Citi Open. Washington is also home to two major annual marathon races: the Marine Corps Marathon, which is held every autumn, and the Rock 'n' Roll USA Marathon held in the spring. The Marine Corps Marathon began in 1976 and is sometimes called "The People's Marathon" because it is the largest marathon that does not offer prize money to participants.[62]

The district's four NCAA Division I teams, American Eagles, George Washington Colonials, Georgetown Hoyas and Howard Bison and Lady Bison, have a broad following. The Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team is the most notable and also plays at the Capital One Arena. From 2008 to 2012, the district hosted an annual college football bowl game at RFK Stadium, called the Military Bowl.[63] The D.C. area is home to one regional sports television network, Comcast SportsNet (CSN), based in Bethesda, Maryland.

==Folded teams

The city was formerly home to several other teams that either failed to survive or belonged to leagues that folded.

• The Chicago Blitz, United States Football League 1983–1984
• The Chicago Sting, North American Soccer League 1975–1984 and Major Indoor Soccer League
• The Chicago Cougars, World Hockey Association 1972–1975
• The Chicago Rockers, Continental Basketball Association
• The Chicago Skyliners, American Basketball Association 2000–01
• The Chicago Bruisers, Arena Football League 1987–1989
• The Chicago Power, National Professional Soccer League 1984–2001
• The Chicago Blaze, National Women's Basketball League
• The Chicago Machine, Major League Lacrosse
• The Chicago Whales of the Federal Baseball League, a rival league to Major League Baseball from 1914 to 1916
• The Chicago American Giants of the Negro baseball league, 1910–1952
• The Chicago Bruins of the National Basketball League, 1939–1942
• The Chicago Studebaker Flyers of the NBL, 1942–43
• The Chicago American Gears of the NBL, 1944–1947
• The Chicago Stags of the Basketball Association of America, 1946–1950
• The Chicago Majors of the American Basketball League, 1961–1963
• The Chicago Express of the ECHL
• The Chicago Enforcers of the XFL pro football league
• The Chicago Fire, World Football League 1974
• The Chicago Winds, World Football League 1975
• The Chicago Hustle, Women's Professional Basketball League 1978–1981
• The Chicago Mustangs, North American Soccer League 1966–1967
• The Chicago Storm, Ultimate Soccer League 2004–2005
• The Chicago Rush, Arena Football League 2001–2013
• The Chicago Storm, American Profesional Slo-Pitch League (APSPL), 1977-1978
• The Chicago Nationwide Advertising, North American Softball League (NASL), 1980

Motorsports

Indianapolis is home to the annual Indianapolis 500 race.

Indiana has an extensive history with auto racing. Indianapolis hosts the Indianapolis 500 mile race over Memorial Day weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway every May. The name of the race is usually shortened to "Indy 500" and also goes by the nickname "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing". The race attracts more than 250,000 people every year, making it the largest single day sporting event in the world. The track also hosts the Brickyard 400 (NASCAR) and the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix. From 2000 to 2007, it hosted the United States Grand Prix (Formula One). Indiana features the world's largest and most prestigious drag race, the NHRA Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, held each Labor Day weekend at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis in Clermont, Indiana. Indiana is also host to a major unlimited hydroplane racing power boat race circuits in the major H1 Unlimited league, the Madison Regatta (Madison, Indiana).

Professional sports

The Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League have been based in the state since 1984.

As of 2013 Indiana has produced more National Basketball Association (NBA) players per capita than any other state. Muncie has produced the most per capita of any American city, with two other Indiana cities in the top ten.[65] It has a rich basketball heritage that reaches back to the sport's formative years. The NBA's Indiana Pacers play their home games at Bankers Life Fieldhouse; they began play in 1967 in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and joined the NBA when the leagues merged in 1976. Although James Naismith developed basketball in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1891, high school basketball was born in Indiana. In 1925, Naismith visited an Indiana basketball state finals game along with 15,000 screaming fans and later wrote "Basketball really had its origin in Indiana, which remains the center of the sport." The 1986 film Hoosiers is inspired by the story of the 1954 Indiana state champions Milan High School. Professional basketball player Larry Bird was born in West Baden Springs and was raised in French Lick. He went on to lead the Boston Celtics to the NBA championship in 1981, 1984, and 1986.[66]

Indianapolis is home to the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference. The Colts have roots back to 1913 as the Dayton Triangles. They became an official team after moving to Baltimore, MD, in 1953. In 1984, the Colts relocated to Indianapolis, leading to an eventual rivalry with the Baltimore Ravens. After calling the RCA Dome home for 25 years, the Colts play their home games at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. While in Baltimore, the Colts won the 1970 Super Bowl. In Indianapolis, the Colts won Super Bowl XLI, bringing the franchise total to two. In recent years the Colts have regularly competed in the NFL playoffs.

Indiana was home to two charter members of the National Football League teams, the Hammond Pros and the Muncie Flyers. Another early NFL franchise, the Evansville Crimson Giants spent two seasons in the league before folding.

Professional teams

The following table shows the professional sports teams in Indiana. Teams in italic are in major professional leagues.

Club	Sport	League	Venue (capacity)
Indianapolis Colts	American football	National Football League	Lucas Oil Stadium (62,400)
Indiana Pacers	Basketball	National Basketball Association	Bankers Life Fieldhouse (18,165)
Evansville Otters	Baseball	Frontier League	Bosse Field (5,181)
Evansville Thunderbolts	Ice hockey	Southern Professional Hockey League	Ford Center (9,000)
Fort Wayne Komets	Ice hockey	ECHL	Allen County War Memorial Coliseum (10,480)
Fort Wayne Mad Ants	Basketball	NBA G League	War Memorial Coliseum (13,000)
Fort Wayne TinCaps	Baseball	Midwest League	Parkview Field (8,100)
Gary SouthShore RailCats	Baseball	American Association	U.S. Steel Yard (6,139)
Indy Eleven	Soccer	United Soccer League	Lucas Oil Stadium (62,400)
Indiana Fever	Basketball	Women's National Basketball Association	Bankers Life Fieldhouse (18,165)
Indy Fuel	Ice hockey	ECHL	Fairgrounds Coliseum (6,300)
Indianapolis Indians	Baseball	International League (AAA)	Victory Field (14,230)
Indianapolis Enforcers	Arena Football	AAL	Fairgrounds Coliseum
South Bend Cubs	Baseball	Midwest League	Four Winds Field (5,000)

The following is a table of sports venues in Indiana having a capacity in excess of 30,000:

Facility	Capacity	Municipality	Tenants
Indianapolis Motor Speedway	257,325	Speedway	Indianapolis 500 Grand Prix of Indianapolis Brantley Gilbert Big Machine Brickyard 400 Lilly Diabetes 250
Notre Dame Stadium	84,000	Notre Dame	Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Lucas Oil Stadium	62,421	Indianapolis	Indianapolis Colts Indy Eleven
Ross–Ade Stadium	57,236	West Lafayette	Purdue Boilermakers football
Memorial Stadium	52,929	Bloomington	Indiana Hoosiers football

College athletics

Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, home to Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball

Notre Dame Stadium, home to the Fighting Irish

Indiana has had great sports success at the collegiate level.

In men's basketball, the Indiana Hoosiers have won five NCAA national championships and 22 Big Ten Conference championships. The Purdue Boilermakers were selected as the national champions in 1932 before the creation of the tournament, and have won 23 Big Ten championships. The Boilermakers along with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish have both won a national championship in women's basketball.

In college football, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish have won 11 consensus national championships, as well as the Rose Bowl Game, Cotton Bowl Classic, Orange Bowl and Sugar Bowl. Meanwhile, the Purdue Boilermakers have won 10 Big Ten championships and have won the Rose Bowl and Peach Bowl.

Schools fielding NCAA Division I athletic programs include:

Program	Division	Conference	City
Ball State Cardinals	Division I-FBS	Mid-American Conference	Muncie
Butler Bulldogs	Division I-FCS	Big East Conference Pioneer Football League	Indianapolis
Evansville Purple Aces	Division 1 (non-football)	Missouri Valley Conference	Evansville
Indiana Hoosiers	Division I-FBS	Big Ten Conference	Bloomington
Indiana State Sycamores	Division I-FCS	Missouri Valley Conference Missouri Valley Football Conference	Terre Haute
IUPUI Jaguars	Division 1 (non-football)	Horizon League	Indianapolis
Notre Dame Fighting Irish	Division I-FBS	Atlantic Coast Conference Big Ten Conference (men's ice hockey) Independent (football)	South Bend
Purdue Boilermakers	Division I-FBS	Big Ten Conference	West Lafayette
Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons	Division 1 (non-football)	Horizon League	Fort Wayne
Valparaiso Crusaders	Division I-FCS	Missouri Valley Conference Pioneer Football League Summit League (men's swimming, men's tennis) Southland Bowling League (women's bowling)	Valparaiso

The state has four major college teams playing in NCAA Division I for all sports. In football, Iowa State University and the University of Iowa compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), whereas the University of Northern Iowa and Drake University compete in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). Although Iowa has no professional major league sports teams, Iowa has minor league sports teams in baseball, basketball, hockey, and other sports.

The following table shows the Iowa sports teams with average attendance over 8,000. All the following teams are NCAA Division I football, basketball, or wrestling teams:[67][68][69][70][71]

Iowa sports teams (attendance > 8,000)

Team	Location	Avg. Attendance
Iowa Hawkeyes football	Iowa City	68,043
Iowa State Cyclones football	Ames	56,010
Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball	Ames	14,099
Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball	Iowa City	12,869
Iowa Hawkeyes wrestling	Iowa City	12,568
Iowa State Cyclones women's basketball	Ames	9,573
Northern Iowa Panthers football	Cedar Falls	9,337

Professional

Children's Mercy Park, Kansas City

Team	Sport	League	City
Sporting Kansas City	Soccer	Major League Soccer	Kansas City
Sporting Kansas City II	Soccer	USL Championship	Kansas City
Kansas City T-Bones	Baseball	American Association	Kansas City
Garden City Wind	Baseball	Pecos League	Garden City
Kaw Valley FC	Soccer	USL League Two	Lawrence, Kansas and Topeka, Kansas
Salina Liberty	Indoor Football	Champions Indoor Football	Salina
Wichita Thunder	Ice hockey	ECHL	Wichita
Wichita Force	Indoor Football	Champions Indoor Football	Wichita
Wichita Wind Surge	Baseball	Texas League	Wichita

Sporting Kansas City, who have played their home games at Village West in Kansas City, since 2008, are the first top-tier professional sports league and first Major League Soccer team to be located within Kansas. In 2011 the team moved to their new home, a $165m soccer specific stadium now known as Children's Mercy Park.

Historically, Kansans have supported the major league sports teams of Kansas City, Missouri, including the Kansas City Royals (MLB), and the Kansas City Chiefs (NFL), in part because the home stadiums for these teams are a few miles from the Kansas border. The Chiefs and the Royals play at the Truman Sports Complex, located about 10 miles (16 km) from the Kansas–Missouri state line. FC Kansas City, a charter member of the National Women's Soccer League, played the 2013 season, the first for both the team and the league, on the Kansas side of the metropolitan area, but played on the Missouri side until folding after the 2017 season. From 1973 to 1997 the flagship radio station for the Royals was WIBW in Topeka.[72]

Some Kansans, mostly from the westernmost parts of the state, support the professional sports teams of Denver, particularly the Denver Broncos of the NFL.

Two major auto racing facilities are located in Kansas. The Kansas Speedway located in Kansas City hosts races of the NASCAR, IndyCar, and ARCA circuits. Also, the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) holds drag racing events at Heartland Park Topeka. The Sports Car Club of America has its national headquarters in Topeka.

History

The history of professional sports in Kansas probably dates from the establishment of the minor league baseball Topeka Capitals and Leavenworth Soldiers in 1886 in the Western League.[73][74] The African-American Bud Fowler played on the Topeka team that season, one year before the "color line" descended on professional baseball.[74]

In 1887, the Western League was dominated by a reorganized Topeka team called the Golden Giants: a high-priced collection of major leaguer players, including Bug Holliday, Jim Conway, Dan Stearns, Perry Werden and Jimmy Macullar, which won the league by 15½ games.[74] On April 10, 1887, the Golden Giants also won an exhibition game from the defending World Series champions, the St. Louis Browns (the present-day Cardinals), by a score of 12–9. However, Topeka was unable to support the team, and it disbanded after one year.

The first night game in the history of professional baseball was played in Independence on April 28, 1930 when the Muscogee (Oklahoma) Indians beat the Independence Producers 13–3 in a minor league game sanctioned by the Western League of the Western Baseball Association with 1,500 fans attending the game. The permanent lighting system was first used for an exhibition game on April 17, 1930 between the Independence Producers and House of David semi-professional baseball team of Benton Harbor, Michigan with the Independence team winning 9–1 before a crowd of 1,700 spectators.[75]

College

The governing body for intercollegiate sports in the United States, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), was headquartered in Johnson County, Kansas from 1952 until moving to Indianapolis in 1999.[76][77]

NCAA Division I schools

Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, home of the Kansas Jayhawks

While there are no franchises of the four major professional sports within the state, many Kansans are fans of the state's major college sports teams, especially the Jayhawks of the University of Kansas (KU), and the Wildcats of Kansas State University (KSU or "K-State"). The teams are rivals in the Big 12 Conference.

Both KU and K-State have tradition-rich programs in men's basketball. The Jayhawks are a perennial national power, ranking second in all-time victories among NCAA programs, behind Kentucky. The Jayhawks have won five national titles, including NCAA tournament championships in 1952, 1988, and 2008. They also were retroactively awarded national championships by the Helms Foundation for 1922 and 1923. K-State also had a long stretch of success on the hardwood, lasting from the 1940s to the 1980s, making four Final Fours during that stretch. In 1988, KU and K-State met in the Elite Eight, KU taking the game 71–58. After a 12-year absence, the Wildcats returned to the NCAA tournament in 2008, and advanced to the Elite Eight in 2010 and 2018. KU is fifth all-time with 15 Final Four appearances, while K-State's four appearances are tied for 17th.

Conversely, success on the gridiron has been less frequent for both KSU and KU. However, there have been recent breakthroughs for both schools' football teams. The Jayhawks won the Orange Bowl for the first time in three tries in 2008, capping a 12–1 season, the best in school history. And when Bill Snyder arrived to coach at K-State in 1989, he turned the Wildcats from one of the worst college football programs in America,[78] into a national force for most of the 1990s and early 2000s. The team won the Fiesta Bowl in 1997, achieved an undefeated (11–0) regular season and No. 1 ranking in 1998, and took the Big 12 Conference championship in 2003. After three seasons in which K-State football languished, Snyder came out of retirement in 2009 and guided them to the top of the college football ranks again, finishing second in the Big 12 in 2011 and earning a berth in the Cotton Bowl, and winning the Big 12 again in 2012.

Wichita State University, which also fields teams (called the Shockers) in Division I of the NCAA, is best known for its baseball and basketball programs. In baseball, the Shockers won the College World Series in 1989. In men's basketball, they appeared in the Final Four in 1965 and 2013, and entered the 2014 NCAA tournament unbeaten. The school also fielded a football team from 1897 to 1986. The Shocker football team is tragically known for a plane crash in 1970 that killed 31 people, including 14 players.

NCAA Division II schools

Notable success has also been achieved by the state's smaller schools in football. Pittsburg State University, an NCAA Division II participant, has claimed four national titles in football, two in the NAIA and most recently the 2011 NCAA Division II national title. Pittsburg State became the winningest NCAA Division II football program in 1995. PSU passed Hillsdale College at the top of the all-time victories list in the 1995 season on its march to the national runner-up finish. The Gorillas, in 96 seasons of intercollegiate competition, have accumulated 579 victories, posting a 579–301–48 overall mark.

Washburn University, in Topeka, won the NAIA Men's Basketball Championship in 1987. The Fort Hays State University men won the 1996 NCAA Division II title with a 34–0 record, and the Washburn women won the 2005 NCAA Division II crown. St. Benedict's College (now Benedictine College), in Atchison, won the 1954 and 1967 Men's NAIA Basketball Championships.

The Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference has its roots as one of the oldest college sport conferences in existence and participates in the NAIA and all ten member schools are in the state of Kansas. Other smaller school conferences that have some members in Kansas are the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association the Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference, the Midwest Christian College Conference, and the Heart of America Athletic Conference. Many junior colleges also have active athletic programs.

Emporia State's women's basketball team, under head coach Brandon Schneider, who is now serving as the women's basketball coach at the University of Kansas, has seen success as well. In 2010 the team won the NCAA Division II National Championship. Emporia State and Washburn in Topeka share a heated rivalry in all sports, mostly due to the close proximity of both cities.

Junior colleges

The Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference has been heralded as one of the best conferences in all of NJCAA football, with Garden City Community College, Independence Community College, and Butler County Community College all consistently in contention for national championships.

High school

The Kansas State High School Activities Association (KSHSAA) is the organization which oversees interscholastic competition in the state of Kansas at the high school level. It oversees both athletic and non-athletic competition, and sponsors championships in several sports and activities. The association is perhaps best known for devising the overtime system now used for almost all football games below the professional level (which has also been adopted at all levels of Canadian football).

Michigan's major-league sports teams include: Detroit Tigers baseball team, Detroit Lions football team, Detroit Red Wings ice hockey team, and the Detroit Pistons men's basketball team. All of Michigan's major league teams play in the Metro Detroit area.

The Pistons played at Detroit's Cobo Arena until 1978 and at the Pontiac Silverdome until 1988 when they moved into The Palace of Auburn Hills. In 2017, the team moved to the newly built Little Caesars Arena in downtown Detroit. The Detroit Lions played at Tiger Stadium in Detroit until 1974, then moved to the Pontiac Silverdome where they played for 27 years between 1975 and 2002 before moving to Ford Field in Detroit in 2002. The Detroit Tigers played at Tiger Stadium (formerly known as Navin Field and Briggs Stadium) from 1912 to 1999. In 2000 they moved to Comerica Park. The Red Wings played at Olympia Stadium before moving to Joe Louis Arena in 1979. They later moved to Little Caesars Arena to join the Pistons as tenants in 2017. Professional hockey got its start in Houghton,[79] when the Portage Lakers were formed.

The Michigan International Speedway is the site of NASCAR races and Detroit was formerly the site of a Formula One World Championship Grand Prix race. From 1959 to 1961, Detroit Dragway hosted the NHRA's U.S. Nationals.[80] Michigan is home to one of the major canoeing marathons: the 120-mile (190 km) Au Sable River Canoe Marathon. The Port Huron to Mackinac Boat Race is also a favorite.

Twenty-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams was born in Saginaw. The 2011 World Champion for Women's Artistic Gymnastics, Jordyn Wieber is from DeWitt. Wieber was also a member of the gold medal team at the London Olympics in 2012.

Collegiate sports in Michigan are popular in addition to professional sports. The state's two largest athletic programs are the Michigan Wolverines and Michigan State Spartans, which play in the NCAA Big Ten Conference. Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, home to the Michigan Wolverines football team, is the largest stadium in the Western Hemisphere and the second-largest stadium worldwide behind Rungrado May Day Stadium in Pyongyang, North Korea.

The Michigan High School Athletic Association features around 300,000 participants.

Minnesota has professional men's teams in all major sports.

The Minnesota Vikings have played in the National Football League since their admission as an expansion franchise in 1961. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 through 1981 and in the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome from 1982 until its demolition after the 2013 season for the construction of the team's new home, U.S. Bank Stadium. The Vikings' current stadium hosted Super Bowl LII in February 2018. Super Bowl XXVI was played in the Metrodome in 1992. The Vikings have advanced to the Super Bowl Super Bowl IV, Super Bowl VIII, Super Bowl IX, and Super Bowl XI, losing all four games to their AFC/AFL opponent

The Minnesota Twins have played in the Major League Baseball in the Twin Cities since 1961. The Twins began play as the original Washington Senators, a founding member of the American League in 1901, relocating to Minnesota in 1961. The Twins won the 1987 and 1991 World Series in seven game matches where the home team was victorious in all games. The Twins also advanced to the 1965 World Series, where they lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in seven games. The team has played at Target Field since 2010.

The Minneapolis Lakers of the National Basketball Association played in the Minneapolis Auditorium from 1947 to 1960, after which they relocated to Los Angeles. The Minnesota Timberwolves joined the NBA in 1989, and have played in Target Center since 1990.

The National Hockey League's Minnesota Wild play in St. Paul's Xcel Energy Center, and reached 300 consecutive sold-out games on January 16, 2008.[81] Previously, the Minnesota North Stars competed in NHL from 1967 to 1993, which played in and lost the 1981 and 1991 Stanley Cup Finals.

Minnesota United FC joined Major League Soccer as an expansion team in 2017, having played in the lower-division North American Soccer League from 2010 to 2016. The team plays at Allianz Field in St. Paul.[82] Previous professional soccer teams have included the Minnesota Kicks, which played at Metropolitan Stadium from 1976 to 1981, and the Minnesota Strikers from 1984 to 1988.

Minnesota also has minor-league professional sports teams. The Minnesota Swarm of the National Lacrosse League played at the Xcel Energy Center until the team moved to Georgia in 2015. Minor league baseball is represented by major league-sponsored teams and independent teams such as the St. Paul Saints, who play at CHS Field in St. Paul.

Professional women's sports include the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association, winners of the 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017 WNBA Championships, the Minnesota Lightning of the United Soccer Leagues W-League, the Minnesota Vixen of the Independent Women's Football League, the Minnesota Valkyrie of the Legends Football League, and the Minnesota Whitecaps of the National Women's Hockey League.

The Twin Cities campus of the University of Minnesota is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I school competing in the Big Ten Conference. Four additional schools in the state compete in NCAA Division I ice hockey: the University of Minnesota Duluth; Minnesota State University, Mankato; St. Cloud State University and Bemidji State University. There are nine NCAA Division II colleges in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, and twenty NCAA Division III colleges in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and Upper Midwest Athletic Conference.[83][84]

Minneapolis has hosted the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship in 1951, 1992, 2001, and 2019.

The Hazeltine National Golf Club has hosted the U.S. Open, U.S. Women's Open, U.S. Senior Open and PGA Championship. The course also hosted the Ryder Cup in the fall of 2016, when it became one of two courses in the U.S. to host all major golf competitions. The Ryder Cup is scheduled to return in 2028.[85]

Interlachen Country Club has hosted the U.S. Open, U.S. Women's Open, and Solheim Cup.

Winter Olympic Games medalists from the state include twelve of the twenty members of the gold medal 1980 ice hockey team (coached by Minnesota native Herb Brooks) and the bronze medalist U.S. men's curling team in the 2006 Winter Olympics. Swimmer Tom Malchow won an Olympic gold medal in the 2000 Summer games and a silver medal in 1996.

Grandma's Marathon is run every summer along the scenic North Shore of Lake Superior, and the Twin Cities Marathon winds around lakes and the Mississippi River during the peak of the fall color season. Farther north, Eveleth is the location of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame.

Missouri hosted the 1904 Summer Olympics at St. Louis, the first time the games were hosted in the United States.

Professional major league teams:

• MLB: St. Louis Cardinals, Kansas City Royals
• NFL: Kansas City Chiefs
• NHL: St. Louis Blues
• MLS: St. Louis MLS team (Founded 2019, has not started play yet)

Former professional major league teams:

• National Football League:
  • St. Louis Cardinals (moved from Chicago in 1960; moved to Tempe, Arizona, in 1988 and are now the Arizona Cardinals)
  • St. Louis All Stars (active in 1923 only)
  • Kansas City Blues/Cowboys (active 1924–1926, folded)
  • St. Louis Gunners (independent team, joined the NFL for the last three weeks of the 1934 season and folded thereafter)
  • St. Louis Rams 1995–2015 moved from Los Angeles and then back to Los Angeles
• Major League Baseball (American League):
  • St. Louis Browns (moved from Milwaukee in 1902; moved to Baltimore, Maryland after the 1953 season and are now the Baltimore Orioles)
  • Kansas City Athletics (moved from Philadelphia in 1955; moved to Oakland, California after the 1967 season and are now the Oakland Athletics)
• National Basketball Association:
  • St. Louis Bombers (charter BAA franchise in 1946, joined the NBA when it formed in 1949; ceased operations in 1950)
  • St. Louis Hawks (moved from Milwaukee in 1955; moved to Atlanta in 1968 and are now the Atlanta Hawks)
  • Kansas City Kings (moved from Cincinnati in 1972; moved to Sacramento in 1985 and are now the Sacramento Kings; prior to locating in Kansas City, they were known as the Cincinnati Royals)
• National Hockey League:
  • Kansas City Scouts (1974 expansion team, moved to Denver, Colorado in 1976 and became the Colorado Rockies, and would move again to Newark, New Jersey; now called the New Jersey Devils)
  • St. Louis Eagles (1934 relocation of the original Ottawa Senators, folded after the 1934–35 season)
• Major League Soccer:
  • Kansas City Wiz/Kansas City Wizards (founded in 1995, but moved from Kansas City, Missouri, to Kansas City, Kansas, in 2010 and became Sporting Kansas City)

Bismarck was home of the Dakota Wizards of the NBA Development League, and currently hosts the Bismarck Bucks of the Indoor Football League.

North Dakota has two NCAA Division I teams, the North Dakota Fighting Hawks and North Dakota State Bison, and two Division II teams, the Mary Marauders and Minot State Beavers.

Fargo is home to the USHL Ice Hockey team the Fargo Force.

The North Dakota High School Activities Association features more than 25,000 participants.

Outdoor activities such as hunting and fishing are hobbies for many North Dakotans. Ice fishing, skiing, and snowmobiling are also popular during the winter months. Residents of North Dakota may own or visit a cabin along a lake. Popular sport fish include walleye, perch, and northern pike.[86]

The western terminus of the North Country National Scenic Trail is on Lake Sakakawea, where it abuts the Lewis and Clark Trail.

Professional sports teams

Progressive Field, home to the Cleveland Indians baseball team.

Ohio is home to eight professional sports teams across the five different major leagues in the United States. Current teams include the Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball,[87][88] the Columbus Crew SC and FC Cincinnati of Major League Soccer,[89] the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association,[90] the Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns of the National Football League,[91] and the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League.[92]

Ohio has brought home seven World Series titles (Reds 1919, 1940, 1975, 1976, 1990; Indians 1920, 1948), two MLS Cups (Crew 2008, 2020), one NBA Championship (Cavaliers 2016), and nine NFL Championships (Pros 1920; Bulldogs 1922, 1923, 1924; Rams 1945; Browns 1950, 1954, 1955, 1964). Despite this success in the NFL in the first half of the 20th century, no Ohio team has won the Super Bowl since its inception in 1967 or made an appearance since 1989. No Ohio team has made an appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Ohio played a central role in the development of both Major League Baseball and the National Football League. Baseball's first fully professional team, the Cincinnati Red Stockings of 1869, were organized in Ohio.[93] An informal early-20th-century American football association, the Ohio League, was the direct predecessor of the NFL, although neither of Ohio's modern NFL franchises trace their roots to an Ohio League club. The Pro Football Hall of Fame is located in Canton.

On a smaller scale, Ohio hosts minor league baseball, arena football, indoor football, mid-level hockey, and lower division soccer.

Individual sports

The Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course has hosted several auto racing championships, including CART World Series, IndyCar Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series, Can-Am, Formula 5000, IMSA GT Championship, American Le Mans Series and Rolex Sports Car Series. The Grand Prix of Cleveland also hosted CART races from 1982 to 2007. The Eldora Speedway is a major dirt oval that hosts NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, World of Outlaws Sprint Cars and USAC Silver Crown Series races.

Ohio hosts two PGA Tour events, the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and Memorial Tournament. The Cincinnati Masters is an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 and WTA Premier 5 tennis tournament.

College sports

Ohio Stadium in Columbus, home to the Ohio State Buckeyes football team, is the fifth largest stadium in the world.

Ohio has eight NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football teams, divided among three different conferences. It has also experienced considerable success in the secondary and tertiary tiers of college football divisions.

There is only one program in the Power Five conferences, the Ohio State Buckeyes, who play in the Big Ten Conference. The football team is second in all-time winning percentage, with a 931–327–53 overall record and a 25–26 bowl record as of 2020. The program has produced seven Heisman Trophy winners, forty conference titles, and eight undisputed national championships. The men's basketball program has appeared in the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament 27 times.

In the Group of Five conferences, the Cincinnati Bearcats play as a member of the American Athletic Conference. Their men's basketball team has over 1,800 wins, 33 March Madness appearances, and is currently on a nine-year streak of appearances as of 2019. Six teams are represented in the Mid-American Conference: the Akron Zips, Bowling Green Falcons, Kent State Golden Flashes, Miami RedHawks, Ohio Bobcats and the Toledo Rockets. The MAC headquarters are in Cleveland. The Cincinnati–Miami rivalry game has been played in southwest Ohio every year since 1888, and is the oldest current non-conference NCAA football rivalry.

Other Division I schools, either part of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision or not fielding in football include the Cleveland State Vikings, Xavier Musketeers, Wright State Raiders, and Youngstown State Penguins. Xavier's men's basketball has performed particularly well, with 27 March Madness appearances. Youngstown State's football has the third most NCAA Division I Football Championship wins, with 3.

There are 12 NCAA Division II universities and 22 NCAA Division III universities in Ohio.

Because of its low population, South Dakota does not host any major league professional sports franchises. The state has minor league and independent league teams, all of which play in Sioux Falls or Rapid City. Sioux Falls is home to four teams: the Sioux Falls Canaries (baseball), the Sioux Falls Skyforce (basketball), the Sioux Falls Stampede (hockey), and the Sioux Falls Storm (indoor American football).[94] The Canaries play in the American Association, and their home field is Sioux Falls Stadium. The Skyforce play in the NBA G League, and are owned by the NBA's Miami Heat. They play at the Sanford Pentagon. The Stampede and Storm share the Denny Sanford Premier Center. The Stampede play in the USHL, and the Storm play in the IFL. Rapid City has a hockey team named the Rapid City Rush that plays in the ECHL. The Rush began their inaugural season in 2008 at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center.[95]

Universities in South Dakota host a variety of sports programs. For many years, South Dakota was one of the only states in the country without an NCAA Division I football or basketball team. However, several years ago SDSU decided to move their teams from Division II to Division I,[96] a move followed by the University of South Dakota.[97] Other universities in the state compete at the NCAA's Division II or III levels, or in the NAIA.

Famous South Dakota athletes include Billy Mills, Mike Miller, Mark Ellis, Becky Hammon, Brock Lesnar, Chad Greenway, and Adam Vinatieri. Mills is from the town of Pine Ridge and competed at the 1964 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, becoming the only American to win a gold medal in the 10,000-meter event.[98] Miller, of Mitchell, is a two-time NBA champion who played college basketball at the University of Florida, leading them to the 2000 NCAA Championship game his sophomore year, and won the 2001 NBA rookie of the year award. Ellis, of Rapid City, played for the University of Florida and four MLB teams before retiring in 2015.[99][100] Hammon, of Rapid City, played for the WNBA's New York Liberty and San Antonio Silver Stars before becoming an assistant coach for the NBA's San Antonio Spurs in 2014.[101][102] Lesnar, of Webster, is a former heavy-weight champion in the UFC and WWE. Vinatieri is an NFL placekicker who grew up in Rapid City and attended SDSU.[103]

Wisconsin is represented by major league teams in three sports: football, baseball, and basketball. Lambeau Field, located in Green Bay, Wisconsin, is home to the National Football League's Green Bay Packers. The Packers have been part of the NFL since the league's second season in 1921 and hold the record for the most NFL titles, earning the city of Green Bay the nickname "Titletown USA". The Packers are the smallest city franchise in the NFL and the only one owned by shareholders statewide. The franchise was founded by "Curly" Lambeau who played and coached for them. The Green Bay Packers are one of the most successful small-market professional sports franchises in the world and have won 13 NFL championships, including the first two AFL-NFL Championship games (Super Bowls I and II), Super Bowl XXXI and Super Bowl XLV. The state's support of the team is evidenced by the 81,000-person waiting list for season tickets to Lambeau Field.[104]

The Milwaukee Brewers, the state's only major league baseball team, play in Miller Park in Milwaukee, the successor to Milwaukee County Stadium since 2001. In 1982, the Brewers won the American League Championship, marking their most successful season. The team switched from the American League to the National League starting with the 1998 season. Before the Brewers, Milwaukee had two prior Major League teams. The first team, also called the Brewers, played only one season in the newly founded American League in 1901 before moving to St. Louis and becoming the Browns, who are now the Baltimore Orioles. Milwaukee was also the home of the Braves franchise when they moved from Boston from 1953 to 1965, winning the World Series in 1957 and the National League pennant in 1958, before they moved to Atlanta.[105]

The Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association play home games at the Fiserv Forum. The Bucks won the NBA Championship in 1971.[106]

The state also has minor league teams in hockey (Milwaukee Admirals) and baseball (the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, based in Appleton and the Beloit Snappers of the Class A minor leagues). Wisconsin is also home to the Madison Mallards, the La Crosse Loggers, the Lakeshore Chinooks, the Eau Claire Express, the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders, the Green Bay Booyah, the Kenosha Kingfish, the Wisconsin Woodchucks, and the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters of the Northwoods League, a collegiate all-star summer league. In addition to the Packers, Green Bay is also the home to an indoor football team, the Green Bay Blizzard of the IFL. The state is home to the seven-time MISL/MASL Champion Milwaukee Wave.[107]

Wisconsin also has many college sports programs, including the Wisconsin Badgers, of the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the Panthers of the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. The Wisconsin Badgers football former head coach Barry Alvarez led the Badgers to three Rose Bowl championships, including back-to-back victories in 1999 and 2000. The Badger men's basketball team won the national title in 1941 and made trips to college basketball's Final Four in 2000, 2014, and 2015. The Badgers claimed a historic dual championship in 2006 when both the women's and men's hockey teams won national titles.

The Marquette Golden Eagles of the Big East Conference, the state's other major collegiate program, is known for its men's basketball team, which, under the direction of Al McGuire, won the NCAA National Championship in 1977. The team returned to the Final Four in 2003.

Many other schools in the University of Wisconsin system compete in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference at the Division III level. The conference is one of the most successful in the nation, claiming 107 NCAA national championships in 15 different sports as of March 30, 2015.[108]

The Semi-Professional Northern Elite Football League consists of many teams from Wisconsin. The league is made up of former professional, collegiate, and high school players. Teams from Wisconsin include: The Green Bay Gladiators from Green Bay, The Fox Valley Force in Appleton, The Kimberly Storm in Kimberly, The Central Wisconsin Spartans in Wausau, The Eau Claire Crush and the Chippewa Valley Predators from Eau Claire, and the Lake Superior Rage from Superior. The league also has teams in Michigan and Minnesota. Teams play from May until August.

Wisconsin is home to the world's oldest operational racetrack. The Milwaukee Mile, located in Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis, Wisconsin, held races there that considerably predate the Indy 500.[109]

Wisconsin is home to the nation's oldest operating velodrome in Kenosha where races have been held every year since 1927.[110]

Sheboygan is home to Whistling Straits golf club which has hosted PGA Championships in 2004, 2010 and 2015 and will be home to the Ryder Cup golf competition between USA and Europe in 2020.[111] The Greater Milwaukee Open, later named the U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee, was a PGA Tour tournament from 1968 to 2009 held annually in Brown Deer. In 2017, Erin Hills, a golf course in Erin, Wisconsin, approximately 30 miles northwest of Milwaukee, hosted the U.S. Open.[112]

College sports

Bryant–Denny Stadium at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa

College football is extremely popular in Alabama, particularly the University of Alabama Crimson Tide and Auburn University Tigers, rivals in the Southeastern Conference. In the 2013 season, Alabama averaged over 100,000 fans per game and Auburn averaged over 80,000—both numbers among the top twenty in the nation.[123] Bryant–Denny Stadium is the home of the Alabama football team, and has a seating capacity of 101,821,[124] and is the fifth largest stadium in America.[125] Jordan-Hare Stadium is the home field of the Auburn football team and seats up to 87,451.[126]

Legion Field is home for the UAB Blazers football program and the Birmingham Bowl. It seats 71,594.[127] Ladd–Peebles Stadium in Mobile is the home of the University of South Alabama football team, and serves as the home of the NCAA Senior Bowl, Dollar General Bowl (formerly GoDaddy.com Bowl), and Alabama-Mississippi All Star Classic; the stadium seats 40,646.[128] In 2009, Bryant–Denny Stadium and Jordan-Hare Stadium became the homes of the Alabama High School Athletic Association state football championship games, after previously being held at Legion Field in Birmingham.[129]

Professional sports

Regions Field in Birmingham

Von Braun Center in Huntsville

Birmingham–Jefferson Convention Complex in Birmingham

Alabama has several professional and semi-professional sports teams, including three minor league baseball teams.

Club	City	Sport	League	Venue
AFC Mobile	Mobile	Soccer	Gulf Coast Premier League	Archbishop Lipscomb Athletic Complex
Birmingham Bulls	Pelham	Ice Hockey	Southern Professional Hockey League	Pelham Civic Center
Birmingham Legion FC	Birmingham	Soccer	USL Championship	BBVA Compass Field
Birmingham Barons	Birmingham	Baseball	Southern League	Regions Field
Huntsville Havoc	Huntsville	Ice Hockey	Southern Professional Hockey League	Von Braun Center
Montgomery Biscuits	Montgomery	Baseball	Southern League	Montgomery Riverwalk Stadium
Rocket City Trash Pandas	Madison	Baseball	Southern League	Toyota Field
Tennessee Valley Tigers	Huntsville	Football	Independent Women's Football League	Milton Frank Stadium

Notes

The Talladega Superspeedway motorsports complex hosts a series of NASCAR events. It has a seating capacity of 143,000 and is the thirteenth largest stadium in the world and sixth largest stadium in America. Also, the Barber Motorsports Park has hosted IndyCar Series and Rolex Sports Car Series races.

The ATP Birmingham was a World Championship Tennis tournament held from 1973 to 1980.

Alabama has hosted several professional golf tournaments, such as the 1984 and 1990 PGA Championship at Shoal Creek, the Barbasol Championship (PGA Tour), the Mobile LPGA Tournament of Champions, Airbus LPGA Classic, and Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic (LPGA Tour), and The Tradition (Champions Tour).

Sports have become an integral part of the culture of Arkansas, and her residents enjoy participating in and spectating various events throughout the year.

Team sports and especially collegiate football are important to Arkansans. College football in Arkansas began from humble beginnings, when the University of Arkansas first fielded a team in 1894. Over the years, many Arkansans have looked to Arkansas Razorbacks football as the public image of the state.[130] Although the University of Arkansas is based in Fayetteville, the Razorbacks have always played at least one game per season at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock in an effort to keep fan support in central and south Arkansas.

Arkansas State University became the second NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) (then known as Division I-A) team in the state in 1992 after playing in lower divisions for nearly two decades. The two schools have never played each other, due to the University of Arkansas's policy of not playing intrastate games.[131] Two other campuses of the University of Arkansas System are Division I members. The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff is a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference, a league whose members all play football in the second-level Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). The University of Arkansas at Little Rock is a member of the FBS Sun Belt Conference, but is one of two conference schools that have no football program. The state's other Division I member is the University of Central Arkansas, which is a full member (including football) of the FCS Southland Conference. Seven of Arkansas's smaller colleges play in NCAA Division II, with six in the Great American Conference and one in the Lone Star Conference. Two other small Arkansas colleges compete in NCAA Division III, in which athletic scholarships are prohibited. High school football also began to grow in Arkansas in the early 20th century.

Baseball runs deep in Arkansas and has been popular before the state hosted Major League Baseball (MLB) spring training in Hot Springs from 1886 to the 1920s. Two minor league teams are based in the state. The Arkansas Travelers play at Dickey–Stephens Park in North Little Rock, and the Northwest Arkansas Naturals play in Arvest Ballpark in Springdale. Both teams compete in the Texas League.

Related to the state's frontier past, hunting continues in the state. The state created the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission in 1915 to regulate hunting and enforce those regulations.[132] Today a significant portion of Arkansas's population participates in hunting duck in the Mississippi flyway and deer across the state.[133] Millions of acres of public land are available for both bow and modern gun hunters.[133]

Fishing has always been popular in Arkansas, and the sport and the state have benefited from the creation of reservoirs across the state. Following the completion of Norfork Dam, the Norfork Tailwater and the White River have become a destination for trout fishers. Several smaller retirement communities such as Bull Shoals, Hot Springs Village, and Fairfield Bay have flourished due to their position on a fishing lake. The National Park Service has preserved the Buffalo National River in its natural state and fly fishers visit it annually.

Florida has three NFL teams, two MLB teams, two NBA teams, two NHL teams, and two MLS teams. Florida gained its first permanent major-league professional sports team in 1966 when the American Football League added the Miami Dolphins. Florida has given professional sports franchises some subsidies in the form of tax breaks since 1991.[134]

About half of all Major League Baseball teams conduct spring training in the state, with teams informally organized into the "Grapefruit League". Throughout MLB history, other teams have held spring training in Florida.

NASCAR (headquartered in Daytona Beach) begins all three of its major auto racing series in Florida at Daytona International Speedway in February, featuring the Daytona 500, and ends all three Series in November at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Daytona also has the Coke Zero Sugar 400 NASCAR race weekend around Independence Day in July. The 24 Hours of Daytona is one of the world's most prestigious endurance auto races. The Grand Prix of St. Petersburg and Grand Prix of Miami have held IndyCar races as well.

Florida is a major golf hub. The PGA of America is headquartered in Palm Beach Gardens, the PGA Tour is headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, and the LPGA is headquartered in Daytona Beach. The Players Championship, WGC-Cadillac Championship, Arnold Palmer Invitational, Honda Classic and Valspar Championship are PGA Tour rounds.

Florida has teams in all five American major league sports. Florida's most recent major-league team, Inter Miami, began play in MLS in 2020.[135]

The Miami Masters is an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 and WTA Premier tennis event, whereas the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships is an ATP World Tour 250 event.

Minor league baseball, football, basketball, ice hockey, soccer and indoor football teams are based in Florida.[136] Ben Hill Griffin Stadium is the largest football stadium in Florida, the 12th largest stadium in American college football, and the 18th largest stadium in the world, as measured by its official seating capacity of 88,548—though, it has often held over 90,000 for Florida's home football games.

Florida's universities have a number of collegiate sport programs. Major college football programs include the Florida State Seminoles and Miami Hurricanes of the Atlantic Coast Conference, and the Florida Gators of the Southeastern Conference.[137] Since 1996, Florida has added four additional programs to the ranks of Division I FCS: UCF Knights, South Florida Bulls, Florida Atlantic Owls and FIU Panthers.

Sports in Georgia include professional teams in nearly all major sports, Olympic Games contenders and medalists, collegiate teams in major and small-school conferences and associations, and active amateur teams and individual sports. The state of Georgia has teams in four major professional leagues—the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball, the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League, the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association, and Atlanta United FC of Major League Soccer.

The Georgia Bulldogs (Southeastern Conference), Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (Atlantic Coast Conference), Georgia State Panthers and Georgia Southern Eagles (Sun Belt Conference) are Georgia's NCAA Division I FBS football teams, having won multiple national championships between them. The Georgia Bulldogs and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets have a historical rivalry in college football known as Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate, and the Georgia State Panthers and the Georgia Southern Eagles have recently developed their own rivalry.

The 1996 Summer Olympics took place in Atlanta. The stadium that was built to host various Olympic events was converted to Turner Field, home of the Atlanta Braves through 2016.

The Masters golf tournament, the first of the PGA tour's four "majors", is held annually the second weekend of April at the Augusta National Golf Club.

The Atlanta Motor Speedway hosts the Dixie 500 NASCAR Cup Series stock car race and Road Atlanta the Petit Le Mans endurance sports car race.

Atlanta's Georgia Dome hosted Super Bowl XXVIII in 1994 and Super Bowl XXXIV in 2000. The Georgia Dome hosted the NCAA Final Four Men's Basketball National Championship in 2002, 2007, and 2013.[138] It hosted WWE's WrestleMania XXVII in 2011, an event which set an attendance record of 71,617. The dome was also the venue of the annual Chick-fil-A Bowl post-season college football games. Since 2017, they have been held at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium along with the FIRST World Championships.

Professional baseball's Ty Cobb was the first player inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. He was from Narrows and was nicknamed the "Georgia Peach".[139]

Kentucky is the home of several sports teams such as Minor League Baseball's Triple-A Louisville Bats and Class A Lexington Legends and the Class A Bowling Green Hot Rods. They are also home to the Frontier League's Florence Y'alls and several teams in the MCFL. The Lexington Horsemen and Louisville Fire of the now-defunct af2 had been interested in making a move up to the "major league" Arena Football League, but nothing has come of those plans.

The northern part of the state lies across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, which is home to a National Football League team, the Bengals, and a Major League Baseball team, the Reds. It is not uncommon for fans to park in the city of Newport and use the Newport Southbank Pedestrian Bridge, locally known as the "Purple People Bridge", to walk to these games in Cincinnati. Also, Georgetown College in Georgetown was the location for the Bengals' summer training camp, until it was announced in 2012 that the Bengals would no longer use the facilities.[140]

As in many states, especially those without major league professional sport teams, college athletics are prominent. This is especially true of the state's three Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) programs, including the Kentucky Wildcats, the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, and the Louisville Cardinals. The Wildcats, Hilltoppers, and Cardinals are among the most tradition-rich college men's basketball teams in the United States, combining for 11 National championships and 24 NCAA Final Fours; all three are high on the lists of total all-time wins, wins per season, and average wins per season.

The Kentucky Wildcats are particularly notable, leading all Division I programs in all-time wins, win percentage, NCAA tournament appearances, and being second only to UCLA in NCAA championships.[141] Louisville has also stepped onto the football scene in recent years, including winning the 2007 Orange Bowl as well as the 2013 Sugar Bowl, and also producing 2016 Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson. Western Kentucky, the 2002 national champion in Division I-AA football (now Football Championship Subdivision (FCS)), completed its transition to Division I FBS football in 2009.

The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville on the first Saturday in May. The Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville has hosted several editions of the PGA Championship, Senior PGA Championship and Ryder Cup since the 1990s.

The NASCAR Cup Series has a race at the Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Kentucky, which is within an hour driving distance from Cincinnati, Louisville and Lexington. The race is called the Quaker State 400. The NASCAR Nationwide Series and the Camping World Truck Series also race there, and previously the IndyCar Series.

Ohio Valley Wrestling in Louisville was the primary location for training and rehab for WWE professional wrestlers from 2000 until 2008, when WWE moved its contracted talent to Florida Championship Wrestling. OVW later became the primary developmental territory for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) from 2011 to 2013.

In 2014 Louisville City FC, a professional soccer team in the league then known as USL Pro and now as the United Soccer League, was announced. The team made its debut in 2015, playing home games at Louisville Slugger Field. In its first season, Louisville City was the official reserve side for Orlando City SC while making its debut in Major League Soccer at the same time. That arrangement ended in 2016, when Orlando City established a directly controlled reserve side in the USL.

Louisiana is nominally the least populous state with more than one major professional sports league franchise: the National Basketball Association's New Orleans Pelicans and the National Football League's New Orleans Saints.

Louisiana has 12 collegiate NCAA Division I programs, a high number given its population. The state has no NCAA Division II teams and only two NCAA Division III teams. The LSU Tigers football team has won 11 Southeastern Conference titles, six Sugar Bowls and four national championships.

Each year New Orleans plays host to the Sugar Bowl, the Bayou Classic, and the New Orleans Bowl college football games, and Shreveport hosts the Independence Bowl. Also, New Orleans has hosted the Super Bowl a record seven times, as well as the BCS National Championship Game, NBA All-Star Game and NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship.

The Zurich Classic of New Orleans, is a PGA Tour golf tournament held since 1938. The Rock 'n' Roll Mardi Gras Marathon and Crescent City Classic are two road running competitions held at New Orleans.

As of 2016, Louisiana was the birthplace of the most NFL players per capita for the eighth year in a row.[142]

• Biloxi is home to the Biloxi Shuckers baseball team, a AA minor league affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers and member of the Southern League are currently located in Biloxi at MGM Park
• Clinton is home to the Mississippi Brilla, a USL League Two soccer team.
• Pearl is home to the Mississippi Braves baseball team. The Braves are an AA minor league affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They play in the Southern League.
• Southaven is home to the Memphis Hustle basketball team. The Hustle are an affiliate of the Memphis Grizzlies. They play in the NBA G League.

North Carolina is home to four major league sports franchises: the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League, the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association, and Charlotte FC of Major League Soccer are based in Charlotte, while the Raleigh-based Carolina Hurricanes play in the National Hockey League. The Panthers and Hurricanes are the only two major professional sports teams that have the same geographical designation while playing in different metropolitan areas. The Hurricanes are the only major professional team from North Carolina to have won a league championship, having captured the Stanley Cup in 2006. North Carolina is also home to two other top-level professional teams in less prominent sports—the Charlotte Hounds of Major League Lacrosse and the North Carolina Courage of the National Women's Soccer League.

While North Carolina has no Major League Baseball team, it does have numerous minor league baseball teams, with the highest level of play coming from the AAA-affiliated Charlotte Knights and Durham Bulls. Additionally, North Carolina has minor league teams in other team sports including soccer and ice hockey, most notably North Carolina FC and the Charlotte Checkers, both of which play in the second tier of their respective sports.

In addition to professional team sports, North Carolina has a strong affiliation with NASCAR and stock-car racing, with Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord hosting two Cup Series races every year. Charlotte also hosts the NASCAR Hall of Fame, while Concord is the home of several top-flight racing teams, including Hendrick Motorsports, Roush Fenway Racing, Richard Petty Motorsports, Stewart-Haas Racing, and Chip Ganassi Racing. Numerous other tracks around North Carolina host races from low-tier NASCAR circuits as well.

Golf is a popular summertime leisure activity, and North Carolina has hosted several important professional golf tournaments. Pinehurst Resort in Pinehurst has hosted a PGA Championship, Ryder Cup, two U.S. Opens, and one U.S. Women's Open. The Wells Fargo Championship is a regular stop on the PGA Tour and is held at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, and Quail Hollow has also played host to the PGA Championship. The Wyndham Championship is played annually in Greensboro at Sedgefield Country Club.

College sports are also popular in North Carolina, with 18 schools competing at the Division I level. The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is headquartered in Greensboro, and both the ACC Football Championship Game (Charlotte) and the ACC Men's Basketball Tournament (Greensboro) were most recently held in North Carolina. Additionally, the city of Charlotte is home to the National Junior College Athletics Association's (NJCAA) headquarters.[143] College basketball is very popular in North Carolina, buoyed by the Tobacco Road rivalries between ACC members North Carolina, Duke, North Carolina State, and Wake Forest. The ACC Championship Game and the Duke's Mayo Bowl are held annually in Charlotte's Bank of America Stadium, featuring teams from the ACC and the Southeastern Conference. Additionally, the state has hosted the NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four on two occasions, in Greensboro in 1974 and in Charlotte in 1994.

Oklahoma has teams in basketball, football, arena football, baseball, soccer, hockey, and wrestling in Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Enid, Norman, and Lawton. The Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association (NBA) is the state's only major league sports franchise. The state had a team in the Women's National Basketball Association, the Tulsa Shock, from 2010 through 2015, but the team relocated to Dallas–Fort Worth after that season[144] and became the Dallas Wings.[145]

Oklahoma has teams in several minor leagues, including Minor League Baseball at the AAA and AA levels (Oklahoma City Dodgers and Tulsa Drillers, respectively), hockey's ECHL with the Tulsa Oilers, and a number of indoor football leagues. In the last-named sport, the state's most notable team was the Tulsa Talons, which played in the Arena Football League until 2012, when the team was moved to San Antonio. The Oklahoma Defenders replaced the Talons as Tulsa's only professional arena football team, playing the CPIFL. The Oklahoma City Blue, of the NBA G League, relocated to Oklahoma City from Tulsa in 2014, where they were formerly known as the Tulsa 66ers. Tulsa is the base for the Tulsa Revolution, which plays in the American Indoor Soccer League.[146] Enid and Lawton host professional basketball teams in the USBL and the CBA.

The NBA's New Orleans Hornets became the first major league sports franchise based in Oklahoma when the team was forced to relocate to Oklahoma City's Ford Center, now known as Chesapeake Energy Arena, for two seasons following Hurricane Katrina in 2005.[147] In July 2008, the Seattle SuperSonics relocated to Oklahoma City and began to play at the Ford Center as the Oklahoma City Thunder for the 2008–09 season, becoming the state's first permanent major league franchise.[148]

Collegiate athletics are a popular draw in the state. The state has four schools that compete at the highest level of college sports, NCAA Division I. The most prominent are the state's two members of the Big 12 Conference,[149] one of the so-called Power Five conferences of the top tier of college football, Division I FBS. The University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University average well over 50,000 fans attending their football games, and Oklahoma's football program ranked 12th in attendance among American colleges in 2010, with an average of 84,738 people attending its home games.[150] The two universities meet several times each year in rivalry matches known as the Bedlam Series, which are some of the greatest sporting draws to the state. Sports Illustrated magazine rates Oklahoma and Oklahoma State among the top colleges for athletics in the nation.[151][152]

Two private institutions in Tulsa, the University of Tulsa and Oral Roberts University; are also Division I members. Tulsa competes in FBS football and other sports in the American Athletic Conference,[153] while Oral Roberts, which does not sponsor football,[154] is a member of the Summit League.[155] In addition, 12 of the state's smaller colleges and universities compete in NCAA Division II as members of three different conferences,[156][157][158] and eight other Oklahoma institutions participate in the NAIA, mostly within the Sooner Athletic Conference.[159]

Regular LPGA tournaments are held at Cedar Ridge Country Club in Tulsa, and major championships for the PGA or LPGA have been played at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oak Tree Country Club in Oklahoma City, and Cedar Ridge Country Club in Tulsa.[160] Rated one of the top golf courses in the nation, Southern Hills has hosted four PGA Championships, including one in 2007, and three U.S. Opens, the most recent in 2001.[161] Rodeos are popular throughout the state, and Guymon, in the state's panhandle, hosts one of the largest in the nation.[162]

Although no major league professional sports teams are based in South Carolina, the Carolina Panthers do have training facilities in the state and played their inaugural season's home games at Clemson's Memorial Stadium, however, they now play at Bank of America Stadium in North Carolina. The Panthers consider themselves "The Carolinas' Team" and refrained from naming themselves after Charlotte or either of the Carolinas. The state is also home to numerous minor league professional teams. College teams represent their particular South Carolina institutions, and are the primary options for football, basketball and baseball attendance in the state. South Carolina is also a top destination for golf and water sports.

South Carolina is also home to one of NASCAR's first tracks and its first paved speedway, Darlington Raceway, located northwest of Florence.

Tennessee is home to four major professional sports franchises: the Tennessee Titans have played in the National Football League since 1997, the Memphis Grizzlies have played in the National Basketball Association since 2001, the Nashville Predators have played in the National Hockey League since 1998, and Nashville SC has played in Major League Soccer since 2020.

The state is also home to eight teams playing in minor leagues. Four Minor League Baseball teams call the state their home. The Memphis Redbirds and Nashville Sounds, each of the Pacific Coast League, compete at the Triple-A level, the highest before Major League Baseball. The Chattanooga Lookouts and Tennessee Smokies play in the Double-A Southern League.

The Knoxville Ice Bears are a minor league ice hockey team of the Southern Professional Hockey League. Memphis 901 FC, a soccer team, joined the USL Championship in 2019.[163] Chattanooga Red Wolves SC became an inaugural member of the third-level USL League One in 2019. Chattanooga FC began play in the National Independent Soccer Association in 2020.

In Knoxville, the Tennessee Volunteers college team has played in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association since the conference was formed in 1932. The football team has won 13 SEC championships and 28 bowls, including four Sugar Bowls, three Cotton Bowls, an Orange Bowl and a Fiesta Bowl. Meanwhile, the men's basketball team has won four SEC championships and reached the NCAA Elite Eight in 2010. In addition, the women's basketball team has won a host of SEC regular-season and tournament titles along with eight national titles.

In Nashville, the Vanderbilt Commodores are also charter members of the SEC. The Tennessee–Vanderbilt football rivalry began in 1892, having since played more than a hundred times. In June 2014, the Vanderbilt Commodores baseball team won its first men's national championship by winning the 2014 College World Series.

The state is home to 10 other NCAA Division I programs. Two of these participate in the top level of college football, the Football Bowl Subdivision. The Memphis Tigers are members of the American Athletic Conference, and the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders from Murfreesboro play in Conference USA. In addition to the Commodores, Nashville is also home to the Belmont Bruins and Tennessee State Tigers, both members of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC), and the Lipscomb Bisons, members of the Atlantic Sun Conference. Tennessee State plays football in Division I's second level, the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), while Belmont and Lipscomb do not have football teams. Belmont and Lipscomb have an intense rivalry in men's and women's basketball known as the Battle of the Boulevard, with both schools' men's and women's teams playing two games each season against each other (a rare feature among non-conference rivalries). The OVC also includes the Austin Peay Governors from Clarksville, the UT Martin Skyhawks from Martin, and the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles from Cookeville. These three schools, along with fellow OVC member Tennessee State, play each season in football for the Sgt. York Trophy. The Chattanooga Mocs and Johnson City's East Tennessee State Buccaneers are full members, including football, of the Southern Conference.

Tennessee is also home to Bristol Motor Speedway which features NASCAR Cup Series racing two weekends a year, routinely selling out more than 160,000 seats on each date; it also was the home of the Nashville Superspeedway, which held Nationwide and IndyCar races until it was shut down in 2012. Tennessee's only graded stakes horse race, the Iroquois Steeplechase, is also held in Nashville each May.

The FedEx St. Jude Classic is a PGA Tour golf tournament held at Memphis since 1958. The U.S. National Indoor Tennis Championships has been held at Memphis since 1976 (men's) and 2002 (women's).

While American football has long been considered "king" in the state, Texans enjoy a wide variety of sports.[164]

Texans can cheer for a plethora of professional sports teams. Within the "Big Four" professional leagues, Texas has two NFL teams (the Dallas Cowboys and the Houston Texans), two Major League Baseball teams (the Houston Astros and the Texas Rangers), three NBA teams (the San Antonio Spurs, the Houston Rockets, and the Dallas Mavericks), and one National Hockey League team (the Dallas Stars). The Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex is one of only twelve American metropolitan areas that host sports teams from all the "Big Four" professional leagues. Outside the "Big Four", Texas also has a WNBA team, (the Dallas Wings) and two Major League Soccer teams (the Houston Dynamo and FC Dallas).

Collegiate athletics have deep significance in Texas culture, especially football. The state has twelve Division I-FBS schools, the most in the nation. Four of the state's universities, the Baylor Bears, Texas Longhorns, TCU Horned Frogs, and Texas Tech Red Raiders, compete in the Big 12 Conference. The Texas A&M Aggies left the Big 12 and joined the Southeastern Conference in 2012, which led the Big 12 to invite TCU to join; TCU was previously in the Mountain West Conference. The Houston Cougars and the SMU Mustangs compete in the American Athletic Conference. The Texas State Bobcats and the UT Arlington Mavericks compete in the Sun Belt Conference. Four of the state's schools claim at least one national championship in football: the Texas Longhorns, the Texas A&M Aggies, the TCU Horned Frogs, and the SMU Mustangs.[165][166][167][168]

According to a survey of Division I-A coaches the rivalry between the University of Oklahoma and the University of Texas at Austin, the Red River Shootout, ranks the third-best in the nation.[169] The TCU Horned Frogs and SMU Mustangs also share a rivalry and compete annually in the Battle for the Iron Skillet. A fierce rivalry, the Lone Star Showdown, also exists between the state's two largest universities, Texas A&M University and the University of Texas at Austin. The athletics portion of the Lone Star Showdown rivalry has been put on hold after the Texas A&M Aggies joined the Southeastern Conference.[170]

The University Interscholastic League (UIL) organizes most primary and secondary school competitions. Events organized by UIL include contests in athletics (the most popular being high school football) as well as artistic and academic subjects.[171]

Texans also enjoy the rodeo. The world's first rodeo was hosted in Pecos, Texas.[172] The annual Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is the largest rodeo in the world. It begins with trail rides from several points throughout the state that convene at Reliant Park.[173] The Southwestern Exposition and Livestock Show in Fort Worth is the oldest continuously running rodeo incorporating many of the state's most historic traditions into its annual events. Dallas hosts the State Fair of Texas each year at Fair Park.[174]

Texas Motor Speedway hosts annual NASCAR Cup Series and IndyCar Series auto races since 1997. Since 2012, Austin's Circuit of the Americas plays host to a round of the Formula 1 World Championship—[175] the first at a permanent road circuit in the United States since the 1980 Grand Prix at Watkins Glen International—, as well as Grand Prix motorcycle racing, FIA World Endurance Championship and United SportsCar Championship races.

Virginia is the most populous U.S. state without a major professional sports league franchise.[176] The reasons for this include the lack of any dominant city or market within the state, the proximity of teams in Washington, D.C. and North Carolina, and a reluctance to publicly finance stadiums.[177][178] A proposed arena in Virginia Beach designed for an NBA franchise became the latest unsuccessful sports initiative when the city council there ended support in 2017.[179] Norfolk is however host to two minor league teams: The AAA Norfolk Tides and the ECHL's Norfolk Admirals. The San Francisco Giants' AA team, the Richmond Flying Squirrels, began play at The Diamond in 2010, replacing the AAA Richmond Braves, who relocated after 2008.[180] Additionally, the Washington Nationals, Boston Red Sox, and Cleveland Indians also have Single-A farm teams in Virginia.[181] The Richmond Kickers, a United Soccer League club, have operated since 1993 and are the only team in their league to win both the league championship and the U.S. Open Cup in the same year.[182]

The Washington Football Team have their headquarters in Ashburn and their training facility is in Richmond,[183] and the Washington Capitals train at MedStar Capitals Iceplex in Ballston. Virginia has many professional caliber golf courses including the Greg Norman course at Lansdowne Resort and Kingsmill Resort, home of the Kingsmill Championship, an LPGA Tour tournament. NASCAR currently schedules Monster Energy NASCAR Cup races on two tracks in Virginia: Martinsville Speedway and Richmond Raceway. Virginia natives currently competing in the series include Denny Hamlin and Elliott Sadler.[184]

Virginia does not allow state appropriated funds to be used for either operational or capital expenses for intercollegiate athletics.[186] Despite this, both the Virginia Cavaliers and Virginia Tech Hokies have been able to field competitive teams in the Atlantic Coast Conference and maintain modern facilities. Their rivalry is followed statewide. Twelve other universities compete in NCAA Division I, particularly in the Atlantic 10 Conference, Big South Conference, and Colonial Athletic Association. Three historically Black schools compete in the Division II Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association, and two others (Hampton and Norfolk State) compete in Division I. Several smaller schools compete in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference and the USA South Athletic Conference of NCAA Division III. The NCAA currently holds its Division III championships in football, men's basketball, volleyball and softball in Salem.[187]

West Virginia is home to college sports teams from two schools—West Virginia and Marshall—that play in NCAA Division I. West Virginia is also home to several professional minor league baseball, football, soccer, and other sports teams.

Club	Sport	League
West Virginia Mountaineers	Football / Basketball	Big 12 Conference
Marshall Thundering Herd	Football / Basketball	Conference USA
West Virginia Power	Baseball	South Atlantic League
West Virginia Miners	Baseball	Prospect League
West Virginia Black Bears	Baseball	New York–Penn League
Wheeling Nailers	Ice hockey	ECHL
West Virginia Lightning[188]	Football	Elite Mid-Continental Football League[189]
West Virginia Alliance FC	Soccer	USL League Two
West Virginia Bruisers	Football	Women's Football Alliance

Club	Sport	League	Championships
Arizona Cardinals	American football	National Football League	2 (1925, 1947)
Phoenix Suns	Basketball	National Basketball Association	0
Arizona Diamondbacks	Baseball	Major League Baseball	1 (2001)
Arizona Coyotes	Ice hockey	National Hockey League	0
Arizona Rattlers	Indoor football	Indoor Football League	6 (1994, 1997, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017)
Phoenix Rising FC	Soccer	USL Championship	0
Phoenix Mercury	Basketball	Women's National Basketball Association	3 (2007, 2009, 2014)
Tucson Roadrunners	Ice hockey	American Hockey League	0
Northern Arizona Suns	Basketball	NBA G League	1

State Farm Stadium hosted Super Bowl XLII on February 3, 2008, and Super Bowl XLIX on February 1, 2015. The stadium is also scheduled to host Super Bowl LVII tentatively scheduled for February 5, 2023.

Due to its numerous golf courses, Arizona is home to several stops on the PGA Tour, most notably the Phoenix Open, held at the TPC of Scottsdale, and the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Marana.

Auto racing is another sport known in the state. Phoenix Raceway in Avondale is home to NASCAR race weekends twice a year. Firebird International Raceway near Chandler is home to drag racing and other motorsport events.

California has nineteen major professional sports league franchises, far more than any other state. The San Francisco Bay Area has six major league teams spread in its three major cities: San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland, while the Greater Los Angeles Area is home to ten major league franchises. San Diego and Sacramento each have one major league team. The NFL Super Bowl has been hosted in California 11 times at four different stadiums: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the Rose Bowl, Stanford Stadium, and San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium. A twelfth, Super Bowl 50, was held at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara on February 7, 2016.[190]

California has long had many respected collegiate sports programs. California is home to the oldest college bowl game, the annual Rose Bowl, among others.

California is the only U.S. state to have hosted both the Summer and Winter Olympics. The 1932 and 1984 summer games were held in Los Angeles. Squaw Valley Ski Resort in the Lake Tahoe region hosted the 1960 Winter Olympics. Los Angeles will host the 2028 Summer Olympics, marking the fourth time that California will have hosted the Olympic Games.[191] Multiple games during the 1994 FIFA World Cup took place in California, with the Rose Bowl hosting eight matches (including the final), while Stanford Stadium hosted six matches.

Team	Sport	League
Los Angeles Rams	American football	National Football League (NFL)
Los Angeles Chargers	American football	National Football League
San Francisco 49ers	American football	National Football League
Los Angeles Dodgers	Baseball	Major League Baseball (MLB)
Los Angeles Angels	Baseball	Major League Baseball
Oakland Athletics	Baseball	Major League Baseball
San Diego Padres	Baseball	Major League Baseball
San Francisco Giants	Baseball	Major League Baseball
Golden State Warriors	Basketball	National Basketball Association (NBA)
Los Angeles Clippers	Basketball	National Basketball Association
Los Angeles Lakers	Basketball	National Basketball Association
Sacramento Kings	Basketball	National Basketball Association
Los Angeles Sparks	Basketball	Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Anaheim Ducks	Ice hockey	National Hockey League (NHL)
Los Angeles Kings	Ice hockey	National Hockey League
San Jose Sharks	Ice hockey	National Hockey League
Los Angeles Galaxy	Soccer	Major League Soccer (MLS)
San Jose Earthquakes	Soccer	Major League Soccer
Los Angeles Football Club	Soccer	Major League Soccer

Colorado has five major professional sports leagues, all based in the Denver metropolitan area. Colorado is the least populous state with a franchise in each of the major professional sports leagues.

The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is a major hillclimbing motor race held at the Pikes Peak Highway.

The Cherry Hills Country Club has hosted several professional golf tournaments, including the U.S. Open, U.S. Senior Open, U.S. Women's Open, PGA Championship and BMW Championship.

Surfing has been a central part of Polynesian culture for centuries. Since the late 19th century, Hawaii has become a major site for surfists from around the world. Notable competitions include the Triple Crown of Surfing and The Eddie.

The only NCAA Division I team in Hawaii is the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors and Rainbow Wahine, which competes at the Big West Conference (major sports), Mountain West Conference (football) and Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (minor sports). There are three teams in NCAA Division II: Chaminade Silverswords, Hawaii Pacific Sharks and Hawaii-Hilo Vulcans, all of which compete at the Pacific West Conference.

Notable college sports events in Hawaii include the Maui Invitational Tournament, Diamond Head Classic (basketball) and Hawaii Bowl (football).

Notable professional teams include The Hawaiians, which played at the World Football League in 1974 and 1975; the Hawaii Islanders, a Triple-A minor league baseball team that played at the Pacific Coast League from 1961 to 1987; and Team Hawaii, a North American Soccer League team that played in 1977.

Hawaii has hosted the Sony Open in Hawaii golf tournament since 1965, the Tournament of Champions golf tournament since 1999, the Lotte Championship golf tournament since 2012, the Honolulu Marathon since 1973, the Ironman World Championship triathlon race since 1978, the Ultraman triathlon since 1983, the National Football League's Pro Bowl from 1980 to 2016, the 2000 FINA World Open Water Swimming Championships, and the 2008 Pan-Pacific Championship and 2012 Hawaiian Islands Invitational soccer tournaments.

Central Idaho is home to one of North America's oldest ski resorts, Sun Valley, where the world's first chairlift was installed in 1936.[192] Other noted outdoor sites include Hells Canyon, the Salmon River, and its embarkation point of Riggins.

Club	Sport	League
Boise Hawks	Baseball	Pioneer League
Boise State Broncos	NCAA	Div I FBS, MWC
Idaho Vandals	NCAA	Div I FCS, Big Sky
Idaho State Bengals	NCAA	Div I FCS, Big Sky
Idaho Falls Chukars	Baseball	Pioneer League
Idaho Steelheads	Ice hockey	ECHL

The Boise Open professional golf tournament has been played at Hillcrest Country Club since 1990 as part of the Web.com Tour.

High school sports are overseen by the Idaho High School Activities Association (IHSAA).

In 2016, Meridian's Michael Slagowski ran 800 meters in 1:48.70. That is one of the 35 fastest 800-meter times ever run by a high school boy in the United States.[193] Weeks later, he would become only the ninth high school boy to complete a mile in under four minutes, running 3:59.53.

Professional sports

There are no major league sports franchises in Montana due to the state's relatively small and dispersed population, but a number of minor league teams play in the state. Baseball is the minor-league sport with the longest heritage in the state, and Montana is home to three Minor League Baseball teams, all members of the Pioneer League: the Billings Mustangs, Great Falls Voyagers, and Missoula Osprey.

College sports

All of Montana's four-year colleges and universities field intercollegiate sports teams. The two largest schools, the University of Montana and Montana State University, are members of the Big Sky Conference and have enjoyed a strong athletic rivalry since the early twentieth century. Six of Montana's smaller four-year schools are members of the Frontier Conference.[194] One is a member of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.[195]

Other sports

A variety of sports are offered at Montana high schools.[196] Montana allows the smallest—"Class C"—high schools to utilize six-man football teams,[197] dramatized in the independent 2002 film The Slaughter Rule.[198]

There are junior ice hockey teams in Montana, four of which are affiliated with the North American 3 Hockey League: the Bozeman Icedogs, Great Falls Americans, Helena Bighorns, and Missoula Jr. Bruins.

Olympic competitors

• Ski jumping champion and United States Skiing Hall of Fame inductee Casper Oimoen was captain of the U.S. Olympic team at the 1936 Winter Olympics while he was a resident of Anaconda. He placed thirteenth that year, and had previously finished fifth at the 1932 Winter Olympics.[199][200]
• Montana has produced two U.S. champions and Olympic competitors in men's figure skating, both from Great Falls: John Misha Petkevich, lived and trained in Montana before entering college, competed in the 1968 and 1972 Winter Olympics.[201][202] Scott Davis, also from Great Falls, competed at the 1994 Winter Olympics.[203]
• Missoulian Tommy Moe won Olympic gold and silver medals at the 1994 Winter Olympics in downhill skiing and super G, the first American skier to win two medals at any Winter Olympics.[204]
• Eric Bergoust, also of Missoula, won an Olympic gold medal in freestyle aerial skiing at the 1998 Winter Olympics, also competing in 1994, 2002 and 2006 Olympics plus winning 13 World Cup titles.[205]

Sporting achievements

Montanans have been a part of several major sporting achievements:

• In 1889, Spokane became the first and only Montana horse to win the Kentucky Derby. For this accomplishment, the horse was admitted to the Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame in 2008.[206][207]
• In 1904 a basketball team of young Native American women from Fort Shaw, after playing undefeated during their previous season, went to the Louisiana Purchase Exposition held in St. Louis in 1904, defeated all challenging teams and were declared to be world champions.[208]
• In 1923, the controversial Jack Dempsey vs. Tommy Gibbons fight for the heavyweight boxing championship, won by Dempsey, took place in Shelby.[209]

The Las Vegas Valley is home to the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League who began to play in the 2017–18 NHL season at T-Mobile Arena on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League who began play at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas in 2020 after moving from Oakland, California, and the Las Vegas Aces of the WNBA who began playing in 2018 at Mandalay Bay Events Center. The team moved from San Antonio.

Nevada takes pride in college sports, most notably its college football. College teams in the state include the Nevada Wolf Pack (representing the University of Nevada, Reno) and the UNLV Rebels (representing the University of Nevada, Las Vegas), both in the Mountain West Conference (MW).

UNLV is most remembered for its men's basketball program, which experienced its height of supremacy in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Coached by Jerry Tarkanian, the Runnin' Rebels became one of the most elite programs in the country. In 1990, UNLV won the Men's Division I Championship by defeating Duke 103–73, which set tournament records for most points scored by a team and largest margin of victory in the national title game.

In 1991, UNLV finished the regular season undefeated, a feat that would not be matched in Division I men's basketball for more than 20 years. Forward Larry Johnson won several awards, including the Naismith Award. UNLV reached the Final Four yet again, but lost their national semifinal against Duke 79–77. The Runnin' Rebels were the Associated Press pre-season No. 1 back to back (1989–90, 1990–91). North Carolina is the only other team to accomplish that (2007–08, 2008–09).

The state's involvement in major-college sports is not limited to its local schools. In the 21st century, the Las Vegas area has become a significant regional center for college basketball conference tournaments. The MW, West Coast Conference, and Western Athletic Conference all hold their men's and women's tournaments in the area, and the Pac-12 holds its men's tournament there as well. The Big Sky Conference, after decades of holding its men's and women's conference tournaments at campus sites, began holding both tournaments in Reno in 2016.

Las Vegas has hosted several professional boxing matches, most recently at the MGM Grand Garden Arena with bouts such as Mike Tyson vs. Evander Holyfield, Evander Holyfield vs. Mike Tyson II, Oscar De La Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather and Oscar De La Hoya vs. Manny Pacquiao and at the newer T-Mobile Arena with Canelo Álvarez vs. Amir Khan.

Along with significant rises in popularity in mixed martial arts (MMA), a number of fight leagues such as the UFC have taken interest in Las Vegas as a primary event location due to the number of suitable host venues. The Mandalay Bay Events Center and MGM Grand Garden Arena are among some of the more popular venues for fighting events such as MMA and have hosted several UFC and other MMA title fights. The city has held the most UFC events with 86 events.

The state is also home to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, which hosts NASCAR's Pennzoil 400 and South Point 400. Two venues in the immediate Las Vegas area host major annual events in rodeo. The Thomas & Mack Center, built for UNLV men's basketball, hosts the National Finals Rodeo. The PBR World Finals, operated by the bull riding-only Professional Bull Riders, was also held at the Thomas & Mack Center before moving to T-Mobile Arena in 2016.

The state is also home to one of the most famous tennis players of all time, Andre Agassi, and current baseball superstar Bryce Harper.

==Major professional teams

Team	Sport	League	Venue (capacity)	Established	Titles
Las Vegas Raiders	Football	NFL	Allegiant Stadium (65,000)	2020	3[lower-alpha 1]
Vegas Golden Knights	Ice hockey	NHL	T-Mobile Arena (17,500)	2017	0
Las Vegas Aces	Women's basketball	WNBA	Mandalay Bay Events Center (12,000)	2018	0

No major league professional sports teams are based in New Mexico, but the Albuquerque Isotopes are a Pacific Coast League Triple-A baseball affiliate of the MLB Colorado Rockies. New Mexico is home to several baseball teams of the Pecos League: the Roswell Invaders, Ruidoso Osos, Santa Fe Fuego and the White Sands Pupfish. The Duke City Gladiators of the Indoor Football League (IFL) plays their home games at Tingley Coliseum in Albuquerque. New Mexico United, also based in Albuquerque, began play in the second tier of the American soccer pyramid, the USL Championship, in 2019. Another soccer team from that city, Albuquerque Sol FC, plays in the fourth-tier USL League Two.

Collegiate athletics in New Mexico involve various New Mexico Lobos and New Mexico State Aggies teams in many sports. For many years the two universities have had a rivalry often referred to as the "Rio Grande Rivalry" or the "Battle of I-25" in recognition of the campuses' both being located along that highway. NMSU also has a rivalry with the University of Texas at El Paso which is called "The Battle of I-10". The winner of the NMSU-UTEP football game receives the Silver Spade trophy.

Olympic gold medalist Tom Jager, who is an advocate of controversial high-altitude training for swimming, has conducted training camps in Albuquerque at 5,312 feet (1,619 m) and Los Alamos at 7,320 feet (2,231 m).[210]

NRA Whittington Center in Raton is the United States' largest and most comprehensive competitive shooting range and training facility.[211]

Oregon is home to three major professional sports teams: the Portland Trail Blazers of the NBA, the Portland Thorns of the NWSL and the Portland Timbers of MLS.[212]

Until 2011, the only major professional sports team in Oregon was the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association. From the 1970s to the 1990s, the Blazers were one of the most successful teams in the NBA in terms of both win-loss record and attendance.[213] In the early 21st century, the team's popularity declined due to personnel and financial issues, but revived after the departure of controversial players and the acquisition of new players such as Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge, and still later Damian Lillard.[214][215] The Blazers play in the Moda Center in Portland's Lloyd District, which also is home to the Portland Winterhawks of the junior Western Hockey League.[216]

The Portland Timbers play at Providence Park, just west of downtown Portland. The Timbers have a strong following, with the team regularly selling out its games.[217] The Timbers repurposed the formerly multi-use stadium into a soccer-specific stadium in fall 2010, increasing the seating in the process.[218] The Timbers operate Portland Thorns FC, a women's soccer team that has played in the National Women's Soccer League since the league's first season in 2013. The Thorns, who also play at Providence Park, have won two league championships, in the inaugural 2013 season and also in 2017, and have been by far the NWSL's attendance leader in each of the league's seasons.

Eugene, Salem and Hillsboro have minor-league baseball teams: the Eugene Emeralds, the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes, and the Hillsboro Hops all play in the Single-A Northwest League.[219] Portland has had minor-league baseball teams in the past, including the Portland Beavers and Portland Rockies, who played most recently at Providence Park when it was known as PGE Park.

The Oregon State Beavers and the University of Oregon Ducks football teams of the Pac-12 Conference meet annually in the Oregon–Oregon State football rivalry. Both schools have had recent success in other sports as well: Oregon State won back-to-back college baseball championships in 2006 and 2007,[220] winning a third in 2018;[221] and the University of Oregon won back-to-back NCAA men's cross country championships in 2007 and 2008.[222]

Utah is the second-least populous U.S. state to have a major professional sports league franchise, after the Vegas Golden Knights joined the National Hockey League in 2017. The Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association play at Vivint Smart Home Arena[223] in Salt Lake City. The team moved to the city from New Orleans in 1979 and has been one of the most consistently successful teams in the league (although they have yet to win a championship). Salt Lake City was previously host to the Utah Stars, who competed in the ABA from 1970 to 1976 and won one championship, and to the Utah Starzz of the WNBA from 1997 to 2003.

Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer was founded in 2005 and play their home matches at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy. RSL remains the only Utah major league sports team to have won a national championship, having won the MLS Cup in 2009.[224] RSL currently operates three adult teams in addition to the MLS side. Real Monarchs, competing in the second-level USL Championship, is the official reserve side for RSL. The team began play in the 2015 season at Rio Tinto Stadium,[225] remaining there until moving to Zions Bank Stadium, located at RSL's training center in Herriman, for the 2018 season and beyond.[226] Utah Royals FC, which shares ownership with RSL and also plays at Rio Tinto Stadium, has played in the National Women's Soccer League, the top level of U.S. women's soccer, since 2018.[227] Before the creation of the Royals, RSL's main women's side had been Real Salt Lake Women, which began play in the Women's Premier Soccer League in 2008 and moved to United Women's Soccer in 2016. RSL Women currently play at Utah Valley University in Orem.

The Utah Blaze began play in the original version of the Arena Football League in 2006, and remained in the league until it folded in 2009. The Blaze returned to the league at its relaunch in 2010, playing until the team's demise in 2013. They competed originally at the Maverik Center in West Valley City, and later at Vivint Smart Home Arena when it was known as EnergySolutions Arena.

Utah's highest level minor league baseball team is the Salt Lake Bees, who play at Smith's Ballpark in Salt Lake City and are part of the AAA level Pacific Coast League. Utah also has one minor league hockey team, the Utah Grizzlies, who play at the Maverik Center and compete in the ECHL.

Utah has seven universities that compete in Division I of the NCAA. Three of the schools have football programs that participate in the top-level Football Bowl Subdivision: Utah in the Pac-12 Conference, Utah State in the Mountain West Conference, and BYU as an independent (although BYU competes in the non-football West Coast Conference for most other sports). In addition, Weber State and Southern Utah (SUU) compete in the Big Sky Conference of the FCS. Dixie State, with an FCS football program, and Utah Valley, with no football program, are members of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). Dixie State began a four-year transition to Division I in 2020. Since the WAC has been a non-football conference since 2013, Dixie State football plays as an FCS independent.

Salt Lake City hosted the 2002 Winter Olympics. After early financial struggles and scandal, the 2002 Olympics eventually became among the most successful Winter Olympics in history from a marketing and financial standpoint. Watched by more than two billion viewers, the Games ended up with a profit of $100 million.[228]

Utah has hosted professional golf tournaments such as the Uniting Fore Care Classic and currently the Utah Championship.

Rugby has been growing quickly in the state of Utah, growing from 17 teams in 2009 to 70 as of 2013 with more than 3,000 players, and more than 55 high school varsity teams.[229][230] The growth has been inspired in part by the 2008 movie Forever Strong.[230] Utah fields two of the most competitive teams in the nation in college rugby—BYU and Utah.[229] BYU has won the National Championship in 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015. Formed in 2017, Utah Warriors is a Major League Rugby team based in Salt Lake City.[231]

Major professional teams

Club	Sport	League	Stadium and city
Seattle Kraken	Ice Hockey	National Hockey League	Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle
Seattle Mariners	Baseball	Major League Baseball (AL)	T-Mobile Park, Seattle
Seattle Seahawks	Football	National Football League (NFC)	CenturyLink Field, Seattle
Seattle Sounders FC	Soccer	Major League Soccer (West)	CenturyLink Field, Seattle
Seattle Storm	Basketball	Women's National Basketball Association	Alaska Airlines Arena, Seattle & Angel of the Winds Arena, Everett

Minor professional and amateur teams

Club	Sport	League	Stadium and city
Everett AquaSox	Baseball	Northwest League (A)	Everett Memorial Stadium, Everett
Everett Silvertips	Ice hockey	Western Hockey League	Angel of the Winds Arena, Everett
Seattle Dragons	American football	XFL	CenturyLink Field, Seattle
Seattle Majestics	American football	Women's Football Alliance	French Field, Kent
Seattle Mist	Indoor football	Legends Football League	ShoWare Center, Kent
Seattle Saracens	Rugby union	Canadian Direct Insurance Premier League	Magnuson Park, Seattle
Seattle Seawolves	Rugby union	Major League Rugby	Starfire Stadium, Tukwila
Seattle Thunderbirds	Ice hockey	Western Hockey League	ShoWare Center, Kent
Spokane Chiefs	Ice hockey	Western Hockey League	Spokane Arena, Spokane
Spokane Indians	Baseball	Northwest League (A)	Avista Stadium, Spokane
Tacoma Defiance	Soccer	USL Championship	Cheney Stadium, Tacoma
Tacoma Rainiers	Baseball	Pacific Coast League (AAA)	Cheney Stadium, Tacoma
Tacoma Stars	Indoor soccer	Major Arena Soccer League	ShoWare Center, Kent
Tri-City Americans	Ice hockey	Western Hockey League	Toyota Center, Kennewick
Tri-City Dust Devils	Baseball	Northwest League (A)	Gesa Stadium, Pasco
Wenatchee Wild	Ice hockey	British Columbia Hockey League	Town Toyota Center, Wenatchee

College sports teams

NCAA Division I

• Washington Huskies (Pac-12 Conference; Football Bowl Subdivision)
• Washington State Cougars (Pac-12 Conference; Football Bowl Subdivision)
• Gonzaga Bulldogs (West Coast Conference)
• Seattle Redhawks (Western Athletic Conference)
• Eastern Washington Eagles (Big Sky Conference; Football Championship Subdivision)

NCAA Division II

• Central Washington Wildcats
• Saint Martin's Saints
• Seattle Pacific Falcons
• Western Washington Vikings

NCAA Division III

• Pacific Lutheran Lutes
• Puget Sound Loggers
• Whitman Blues
• Whitworth Pirates

Individual sports

The Seattle Open Invitational golf tournament was part of the PGA Tour from the 1930s to the 1960s. The GTE Northwest Classic was part of the Senior PGA Tour from 1986 to 1995, and the Boeing Classic since 2005. In addition, the 2015 U.S. Open was held at Chambers Bay, and several major tournaments were held at Sahalee Country Club.

Pacific Raceways is a motorsports venue which has hosted the Northwest Nationals of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series and a round of the Trans-Am Series.

The WTA Seattle tennis tournament was part of the WTA Tour from 1977 to 1982.

The Climate Pledge Arena has hosted several mixed martial arts events, such as UFC Fight Night: Nogueira vs. Davis, UFC on Fox: Henderson vs. Diaz, and UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Moraga.

Due to its sparse population, Wyoming lacks any major professional sports teams. However, the Wyoming Cowboys and Cowgirls—particularly the football and basketball teams—are quite popular. Their stadiums in Laramie are about 7,200 feet (2,200 m) above sea level, the highest in NCAA Division I. The Wyoming High School Activities Association also sponsors twelve sports.

Casper has hosted the College National Finals Rodeo since 2001.

The main sports played in American Samoa are football, Samoan cricket, canoeing, yachting, basketball, golf, netball, tennis, rugby, table tennis, boxing, bowling, volleyball, and fishing tournaments. Some current and former sports clubs are the American Samoa Tennis Association, Rugby Unions, Lavalava Golf Club, and Gamefish Association. Leagues improved and organized better after the completion of the Veterans Memorial Stadium.[232]^:338

The 1997 South Pacific Mini Games were the biggest international event ever to take place in American Samoa. The bid to host the games for the 23 participating countries was approved in May 1993. In January 1994, Governor A. P. Lutali appointed Fuga Teleso to head the task force charged with game preparations, including the construction of a stadium. Groundbreaking was in January 1994. The Governor later handed the task force on preparations to Lieutenant Governor Togiola. The task force merged with the American Samoa National Olympics Committee to better coordinate and facilitate preparations. V.P. Willis Construction built the 1,500 seat stands. The Department of Public Safety trained its force for special games security. The opening ceremony became extravagant where the U.S. Army Reserve carried the torch from Tula and Leone.[232]^:357–358

About 2,000 athletes, coaches, and sponsors attended from 19 countries and competed in 11 sports at the game. American Samoa fielded a team of 248 athletes. The team won 48 medals, 22 of which were gold medals, and American Samoa came in fourth overall in the ratings. American Samoa Rotary Club honored Fuga Tolani Teleso with the community's top award, the Paul Harris Fellowship Award, for his work on constructing the Veterans Memorial Stadium.[232]^:359

In 1982, yachters competed in the Hobie World Championship held in Tahiti. American Samoa beat the Apia team by half a point and won the Samoa Cup. In 1983, a team coached by Dr. Adele Satele-Galeai brought home the winning trophy from the Regional Women's Volleyball Tournament in Hawai'i. Also in 1983, the South Pacific Games were held in Apia. American Samoa received 13 medals: four gold, four silver, and five bronze. That same year, three junior golfers made the cut out of 1,000 players to attend the World Junior Golf Tournament in San Diego, California.[232]^:338

In 1987, American Samoa became the 167th member of the International Olympic Committee. The first South Pacific Junior Tennis Tournament was held at the Tafuna courts in January 1990.[232]^:339

Tony Solaita was the first American Samoan to play in Major League Baseball.[232]^:339 There are thirty players from American Samoa in the National Football League (NFL) as of 2015, and over 200 play Div. I NCAA Football.[233] Some American Samoan NFL football players are Shalom Luani, Junior Siavii, Jonathan Fanene, Mosi Tatupu, Shaun Nua, Isaac Sopoaga, and Daniel Te'o-Nesheim.

After World War II, a Welfare and Recreation Department was created. This department arranged bowling, softball, badminton tournaments, basketball, and volleyball at various Tutuila locations. Boxing matches and dancing also became popular activities.[234]

Guam's most popular sport is American football, followed by basketball and baseball respectively. Soccer and other sports are also somewhat popular.[235]

Guam hosted the Pacific Games in 1975 and 1999. At the 2007 Games, Guam finished 7th of 22 countries and 14th at the 2011 Games.

The Guam men's national basketball team and also the Guam women's national basketball team are traditionally one of the top teams in the Oceania region behind the Australia men's national basketball team and the New Zealand national basketball team. As of 2015, it is the reigning champion of the Pacific Games Basketball Tournament. Guam is home to various basketball organizations, including the Guam Basketball Association.[236][237]

The Guam national football team was founded in 1975 and joined FIFA in 1996. Guam was once considered one of FIFA's weakest teams, and experienced their first victory over a FIFA-registered side in 2009, when they defeated Mongolia in the East Asian Cup.

The national team plays at the Guam National Football Stadium and are known as the "matao" team. Matao is the definition of highest level or "noble" class. The team did exceptionally well under former head coach Gary White. As of 2017, the Matao is led by Karl Dodd, the current head coach. The top football division in Guam is the Guam Men's Soccer League. Rovers FC and Guam Shipyard are the league's most competitive and successful clubs, both have won nine championships in the past years.

Guam entered the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification Group D. Guam hosted qualifying games on the island for the first time in 2015. During the qualifying round, Guam clinched their first FIFA World Cup Qualifying win by defeating the Turkmenistan national football team. Since then, the team has experienced moderate success in the qualifying round with a record of 2–1–1.[238]

Guam is represented in rugby union by the Guam national rugby union team. The team has never qualified for a Rugby World Cup. Guam played their first match in 2005, an 8–8 draw with the India national rugby union team. Guam's biggest win was a 74–0 defeat of the Brunei national rugby union team in June 2008.

Team sports popular in the United States were introduced to the Northern Mariana Islands by American soldiers during World War II. Baseball is the islands' most popular sport. CNMI teams have made appearances in the Little League World Series (in the Little, Junior, Senior and Big league divisions) as well as winning gold medals in the Micronesian Games and South Pacific Games.

Basketball and mixed martial arts are also popular in the islands, which hosted the official 2009 Oceania Basketball Tournament. Trench Wars is the CNMI's Mixed Martial Arts brand.[239] Fighters from the CNMI have competed in the Pacific Xtreme Combat as well as the UFC.

Other sports in the CNMI include Ultimate Frisbee,[240] volleyball, tennis, soccer, outrigger sailing, softball, beach volleyball, rugby, golf, boxing, kickboxing, tae kwon do, track and field, Swimming, Triathlon, and American football.

Baseball was one of the first sports to gain widespread popularity in Puerto Rico. The Puerto Rico Baseball League serves as the only active professional league, operating as a winter league. No Major League Baseball franchise or affiliate plays in Puerto Rico, however, San Juan hosted the Montreal Expos for several series in 2003 and 2004 before they moved to Washington, D.C. and became the Washington Nationals.

The Puerto Rico national baseball team has participated in the World Cup of Baseball winning one gold (1951), four silver and four bronze medals, the Caribbean Series (winning fourteen times) and the World Baseball Classic. On March 2006, San Juan's Hiram Bithorn Stadium hosted the opening round as well as the second round of the newly formed World Baseball Classic. Puerto Rican baseball players include Hall of Famers Roberto Clemente, Orlando Cepeda and Roberto Alomar, enshrined in 1973, 1999, and 2011 respectively.[241][242][243]

Boxing, basketball, and volleyball are considered popular sports as well. Wilfredo Gómez and McWilliams Arroyo have won their respective divisions at the World Amateur Boxing Championships. Other medalists include José Pedraza, who holds a silver medal, and three boxers who finished in third place, José Luis Vellón, Nelson Dieppa and McJoe Arroyo. In the professional circuit, Puerto Rico has the third-most boxing world champions and it is the global leader in champions per capita. These include Miguel Cotto, Félix Trinidad, Wilfred Benítez and Gómez among others.

The Puerto Rico national basketball team joined the International Basketball Federation in 1957. Since then, it has won more than 30 medals in international competitions, including gold in three FIBA Americas Championships and the 1994 Goodwill Games August 8, 2004, became a landmark date for the team when it became the first team to defeat the United States in an Olympic tournament since the integration of National Basketball Association players. Winning the inaugural game with scores of 92–73 as part of the 2004 Summer Olympics organized in Athens, Greece.[244] Baloncesto Superior Nacional acts as the top-level professional basketball league in Puerto Rico, and has experienced success since its beginning in 1930.

Puerto Rico is also a member of FIFA and CONCACAF. In 2008, the archipelago's first unified league, the Puerto Rico Soccer League, was established.

Other sports include professional wrestling and road running. The World Wrestling Council and International Wrestling Association are the largest wrestling promotions in the main island. The World's Best 10K, held annually in San Juan, has been ranked among the 20 most competitive races globally. The "Puerto Rico All Stars" team, which has won twelve world championships in unicycle basketball.[245]

Organized Streetball has gathered some exposition, with teams like "Puerto Rico Street Ball" competing against established organizations including the Capitanes de Arecibo and AND1's Mixtape Tour Team. Six years after the first visit, AND1 returned as part of their renamed Live Tour, losing to the Puerto Rico Streetballers.[246] Consequently, practitioners of this style have earned participation in international teams, including Orlando "El Gato" Meléndez, who became the first Puerto Rican born athlete to play for the Harlem Globetrotters.[247] Orlando Antigua, whose mother is Puerto Rican, in 1995 became the first Hispanic and the first non-black in 52 years to play for the Harlem Globetrotters.[248]

Puerto Rico has representation in all international competitions including the Summer and Winter Olympics, the Pan American Games, the Caribbean World Series, and the Central American and Caribbean Games. Puerto Rico hosted the Pan Am Games in 1979 (officially in San Juan), and The Central American and Caribbean Games were hosted in 1993 in Ponce and in 2010 in Mayagüez.

Puerto Rican athletes have won nine medals in Olympic competition (one gold, two silver, six bronze), the first one in 1948 by boxer Juan Evangelista Venegas. Monica Puig won the first gold medal for Puerto Rico in the Olympic Games by winning the Women's Tennis singles title in Rio 2016.[249][250]

Basketball is one of the popular sports in the Virgin Islands. There is currently one player in the NBA from the Virgin Islands, 2019 NBA Draft pick Nicolas Claxton, who plays for the Brooklyn Nets.

In cricket, the country is represented by the West Indies.