The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion team, the team began play the following year. They are named after the Vikings of medieval Scandinavia, reflecting the prominent Scandinavian American culture of Minnesota. The team plays its home games at U.S. Bank Stadium in the Downtown East section of Minneapolis.
The College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University are two closely related private, Benedictine liberal arts colleges in Minnesota. The College of Saint Benedict is a college for women in St. Joseph, while Saint John's University is a university for men in Collegeville. Students at the institutions have a shared curriculum and access to the resources of both campuses. Together, the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University offer over 70 areas of study to undergraduate students, plus graduate programs in nursing and theology.
Xcel Energy Center is a multipurpose arena in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. Completed in 2000 and often called "The X" by fans, it is named for its locally based corporate sponsor Xcel Energy. With an official capacity of 17,954, the arena has four spectator levels: one suite level and three for general seating. The building is home to the NHL's Minnesota Wild and the Minnesota Frost of the PWHL.
John Gagliardi was an American football coach. He was the head football coach at Saint John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota, from 1953 until 2012. From 1949 to 1952, he was the head football coach at Carroll College in Helena, Montana. With a career record of 489–138–11, Gagliardi has the most wins of any coach in college football history. His Saint John's Johnnies teams won four national titles: the NAIA Football National Championship in 1963 and 1965, and the NCAA Division III Football Championship in 1976 and 2003. Gagliardi was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2006.
NBC Sunday Night Football is an American weekly television broadcast of National Football League (NFL) games on NBC and Peacock in the United States. It began airing on August 6, 2006, with the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game, which opened that year's preseason. NBC took over the rights to the Sunday prime time game telecasts from ESPN, which carried the broadcasts from 1987 to 2005. At the same time, ESPN began broadcasting Monday Night Football when it was dropped from sister network ABC. Previously, NBC had aired American Football League (AFL), and later American Football Conference (AFC), games from 1965 until 1997, when CBS took over those rights.
Sports in Minnesota include professional teams in all major sports, Olympic Games contenders and medalists, especially in the Winter Olympics, collegiate teams in major and small-school conferences and associations and active amateur teams and individual sports. The State of Minnesota has a team in all five major professional leagues. Along with professional sports, there are numerous collegiate teams including the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers and St. Thomas Tommies in NCAA Division I, as well as many others across the Minnesota public and private colleges and universities.
Minnesota United FC, often shortened to MNUFC, is an American professional soccer club based in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. The club plays in the Western Conference of Major League Soccer. The club began play in 2017 as the league's 22nd club, and replaced the North American Soccer League (NASL) franchise of the same name.
The Big Ten Men's Ice Hockey Tournament is the conference tournament for the Big Ten Conference. The winner of the tournament receives an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.
The 2015 Baylor Bears football team represented Baylor University in the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Bears were coached by Art Briles, playing their 117th football season; this year was the team's second season in McLane Stadium in Waco, Texas. The Bears were members of the Big 12 Conference. They finished the season 10–3, 6–3 in Big 12 play to finish in fourth place. They were invited to the Russell Athletic Bowl where they defeated North Carolina 49–38. On November 14 Baylor was upset at home vs 15 Oklahoma.
Derel Walker is an American professional gridiron football wide receiver who is a free agent. He most recently played for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was named a CFL All-Star in 2015 and 2016 and received the CFL's Most Outstanding Rookie Award in 2015. He is a Grey Cup champion after winning the 103rd Grey Cup with the Edmonton Eskimos in his rookie year. He previously attended Texas A&M University where he played college football for the Aggies.
Allianz Field is a soccer-specific stadium in Saint Paul, Minnesota, home to Minnesota United FC of Major League Soccer (MLS). Opening in 2019, the 19,400-seat stadium was designed by Populous, during the club's third MLS season. It is located near Interstate 94 and Snelling Avenue.
The 1992 Carleton Knights football team represented Carleton College in the 1992 NCAA Division III football season. Bob Sullivan returned as the head coach, and Gerald Young was hired as the team's new defensive coordinator. The team compiled a 9–1 record and won the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) championship, but lost to the Central Dutch in the first round of the NCAA Division III playoffs.
The 2019 Baylor Bears football team represented Baylor University in the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Bears played their home games at the McLane Stadium in Waco, Texas, and competed in the Big 12 Conference. They were led by Matt Rhule in his third and final season as the program's head coach.
The 2019 Saint John's Johnnies football team represented Saint John's University in the 2019 NCAA Division III football season. The Johnnies, led by seventh-year head coach Gary Fasching, were members of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) and played their home games at Clemens Stadium in Collegeville, Minnesota.
The 2021 Saint John's Johnnies football team represented Saint John's University as a member of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) during the 2021 NCAA Division III football season. Led by eighth-year head coach Gary Fasching, the Johnnies compiled an overall record of 11–1 with a mark of 8–0 in conference play. They finished first the MIAC's Northwoods Division and beat the Bethel Royals, winners of the MIAC's Skyline Division in the MIAC Championship Game. As MIAC champion, Saint John's received and automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Football Championship playoffs, where the defeated Lake Forest in the first round before losing to Linfield in the second round. The Johnnies played home games at Clemens Stadium in Collegeville, Minnesota.
The 2018 Mary Hardin–Baylor Crusaders football team was an American football team that represented the University of Mary Hardin–Baylor in the American Southwest Conference (ASC) during the 2018 NCAA Division III football season. In their 22nd year under head coach Pete Fredenburg, the team compiled a 15–0 record and won the ASC championship. The team advanced to the NCAA Division III playoffs and defeated Mount Union, 24–16, in the 2018 Stagg Bowl.
The 1976 Saint John's Johnnies football team represented Saint John's University as a member of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) during the 1976 NCAA Division III football season. In their 24th season under head coach John Gagliardi, the Johnnies compiled a 10–0–1 record and won the NCAA Division III national championship.
The 1963 Saint John's Johnnies football team was an American football team that compiled a perfect 10–0 record and won the NAIA Football National Championship with a victory over Prairie View A&M in the Camellia Bowl. It was the first of four national championships for the Saint John's Johnnies football program under head coach John Gagliardi.
The 1965 Saint John's Johnnies football team was an American football team that represented Saint John's University as a member of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) during the 1965 NAIA football season. In their 13th season under head coach John Gagliardi, the Johnnies compiled an 11–0 record and won the MIAC championship. The team advanced to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics playoff and won the NAIA national championship with a 33–0 victory over Linfield Wildcats in the Champion Bowl. It was the second of four national championships for the Saint John's Johnnies football program under head coach John Gagliardi.
The 2022 Saint John's Johnnies football team represented Saint John's University as members of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) during the 2022 NCAA Division III football season. Led by ninth-year head coach Gary Fasching, the Johnnies compiled an overall record of 10–2 with a mark of 7–1 in conference play, winning the MIAC Northwoods Division title. Saint John's beat the Bethel Royal in the MIAC Championship Game to win the conference title and earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Football Championship playoffs. There, the Johnnies defeated the Northwestern Eagles in the first round before losing to the Wartburg Knights in the second round. The team played home games at Clemens Stadium in Collegeville, Minnesota.
