Sports in Colorado

Last updated

The location of the State of Colorado in the United States of America. Colorado in United States.svg
The location of the State of Colorado in the United States of America .

This list of sports in the U.S. State of Colorado includes professional teams, college sports, and individual sports from the Denver Metropolitan Area and other cities.

Contents

Professional sports teams

Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies. Coors field 1.JPG
Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies.
Empower Field at Mile High, home of the Denver Broncos. Denver invesco stadium 1.jpg
Empower Field at Mile High, home of the Denver Broncos.
Ball Arena, home of the Denver Nuggets, the Colorado Avalanche, and the Colorado Mammoth. Pepsi Center.jpg
Ball Arena, home of the Denver Nuggets, the Colorado Avalanche, and the Colorado Mammoth.
Dick's Sporting Goods Park, home of the Colorado Rapids. Dick's Park.jpg
Dick's Sporting Goods Park, home of the Colorado Rapids.

Colorado is the least populous state with a franchise in each of the major professional sports leagues. The state is able to support the teams because it contains a large metropolitan area with a higher population than any other city within 550 miles (885 km). Therefore, many of the residents in the surrounding states support the teams in Denver, as shown by the reach of the Broncos' radio network. [1]

ClubHomeFirst gameSportLeague
Denver Broncos Denver September 9, 1960 Football National Football League
Denver Nuggets DenverSeptember 27, 1967 Basketball National Basketball Association
Colorado Rockies DenverApril 5, 1993Baseball Major League Baseball
Colorado Avalanche DenverOctober 6, 1995 Ice hockey National Hockey League
Colorado Rapids Commerce City April 13, 1996 Soccer Major League Soccer
Denver Outlaws Denver2024 field lacrosse Premier Lacrosse League
Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC Colorado Springs March 28, 2015Soccer USL Championship
Denver Bulldogs DenverSummer 1998 Australian rules football USAFL
Colorado Mammoth DenverJanuary 3, 2003 Lacrosse National Lacrosse League
Colorado Eagles Loveland October 17, 2003Ice hockey American Hockey League
Rocky Mountain Rollergirls Denver July 2005 Roller derby Women's Flat Track Derby Association
Denver Roller Derby Denver December 2007 Roller derby Women's Flat Track Derby Association
Boulder County Bombers Boulder November 2011Roller derby Women's Flat Track Derby Association
Denver Barbarians DenverSpring 1967 Rugby union Rugby Super League
American Raptors Glendale Spring 2007 Rugby union Super Rugby Americas
Grand Junction Jackalopes Grand Junction June 18, 2012Baseball Pioneer League (Independent, MLB Partner League)
Northern Colorado Owlz Windsor June 2022Baseball Pioneer League (Independent, MLB Partner League)
Rocky Mountain Vibes Colorado SpringsJune 2019Baseball Pioneer League (Independent, MLB Partner League)

    Former professional sports teams

    ClubSportLeague
    Aurora Cavalry Basketball International Basketball League
    Colorado 14ers (won championship in their final season of 2008–09; moved to Frisco, Texas, went on hiatus in 2009–10, and resumed play in 2010–11 as the Texas Legends)Basketball NBA Development League [lower-alpha 1]
    Colorado Chill (folded along with the NWBL)Basketball National Women's Basketball League
    Colorado Crossover BasketballInternational Basketball League
    Colorado Crush (suspended operations with the AFL in 2009, and did not return after league's hiatus ended) Arena football Arena Football League
    Colorado Rapids U23's Soccer USL Premier Development League
    Colorado Raptors (Reformed as American Raptors, playing in Super Rugby Americas) Rugby union Major League Rugby
    Colorado Rockies (NHL) (moved to East Rutherford, New Jersey, and became the New Jersey Devils)Ice hockey National Hockey League
    Colorado Xplosion (won the Western Conference Championship in inaugural season)Women's Basketball American Basketball League (1996–1998)
    Colorado Springs Blizzard SoccerUSL Premier Development League
    Colorado Springs Sky Sox (relocated to San Antonio after the 2018 season as the San Antonio Missions) Baseball Pacific Coast League (Triple-A, Minor League Baseball)
    Denver Grizzlies (moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, later moved to Cleveland, Ohio, and became the Lake Erie/Cleveland Monsters)Ice hockey International Hockey League (1945–2001)
    Denver Spurs (moved to Ottawa, Ontario and became the Ottawa Civics for the rest of the team's existence)Ice hockey World Hockey Association/Central Hockey League/Western Hockey League
    Denver Cutthroats Ice hockey Central Hockey League
    Denver Dynamite (Inaugural AFL member; folded after four seasons)Arena football Arena Football League
    Denver Gold (United States Football League member, 1983–1985)Football United States Football League
    Denver Bears/Denver Zephyrs (moved to New Orleans and became the New Orleans Zephyrs; now playing as the New Orleans Baby Cakes in the New Orleans suburb of Metairie, Louisiana)Baseball American Association/Pacific Coast League
    Denver Outlaws Lacrosse Major League Lacrosse
    Denver Racquets 1974 Champions (moved to Phoenix 1975) Tennis World Team Tennis
    Denver Stampede Rugby union PRO Rugby
    Rocky Mountain Rage Ice hockeyCentral Hockey League
    Colorado Springs Snow Sox BaseballPecos League
    Colorado Rumble FC (Denver) Indoor soccer Major Arena Soccer League 2
    1. Now known as the NBA G League.

    College athletics

    Colorado is home to five NCAA Division I schools, plus a number of additional schools competing at lower levels. One school that competes at the lowest NCAA level, Division III, operates two Division I teams.

    TeamSchoolCityConference
    Air Force Falcons United States Air Force Academy USAF Academy [lower-alpha 1] Mountain West [lower-alpha 2]
    Colorado Buffaloes University of Colorado Boulder Boulder Pac-12
    Colorado College Tigers [lower-alpha 3] Colorado College Colorado Springs NCHC (men's ice hockey)
    Mountain West (women's soccer)
    Colorado State Rams Colorado State University Fort Collins Mountain West
    Denver Pioneers University of Denver Denver Summit [lower-alpha 4]
    Northern Colorado Bears University of Northern Colorado Greeley Big Sky [lower-alpha 5]
    1. The Academy lies to the north of the Colorado Springs city limits; it is respectively designated by the US Census Bureau and US Postal Service as "Air Force Academy, Colorado" and "USAF Academy, Colorado".
    2. Many Falcons teams compete outside the MW in sports that conference does not sponsor. Notably, the men's ice hockey team plays in Atlantic Hockey America, the men's lacrosse team in the Atlantic Sun Conference, and the wrestling team in the Big 12 Conference.
    3. Colorado College is a member of the Division III Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference in most sports, but fields Division I teams in men's ice hockey and women's soccer. It is one of a small number of Division III schools allowed to award athletic scholarships in its Division I sports.
    4. Four high-profile DU teams compete as members of other conferences in sports that are not sponsored by the Summit League. The men's ice hockey team plays in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference, the men's and women's lacrosse teams play in the Big East Conference, and the women's gymnastics team competes in the Big 12 Conference.
    5. The baseball and men's golf teams compete in the Summit League, and the wrestling team competes in the Big 12 Conference.

    Other sports

    The Unser family includes Al Unser, Al Unser Jr., Bobby Unser, Robby Unser and Louis Unser, and have won the Indianapolis 500 among other motorsports events.

    The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is a major motorsports event held at the Pikes Peak roads. Notable drivers include Mario Andretti, Michèle Mouton, Walter Röhrl, Ari Vatanen, Nobuhiro Tajima, Stig Blomqvist, Sébastien Loeb and Romain Dumas in addition to the Unsers.

    Meanwhile, the Pikes Peak International Raceway has hosted motorsport events including IndyCar Series, NASCAR Busch Series, NASCAR Truck Series, AMA Superbike Championship and USAC Silver Crown Series.

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

    See also

    Related Research Articles

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference</span> Collegiate athletic conference in the western United States

    The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC), commonly known as the Rocky Mountain Conference (RMC) from approximately 1910 through the late 1960s, is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level, which operates in the western United States. Most member schools are in Colorado, with additional members in Nebraska, New Mexico, South Dakota, and Utah.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">NCAA Division I</span> Highest division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association

    NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athletic powers, with large budgets, more elaborate facilities and more athletic scholarships than Divisions II and III as well as many smaller schools committed to the highest level of intercollegiate competition.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">NCAA Division III</span> Division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association

    NCAA Division III (D-III) is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that choose not to offer athletic scholarships to their student-athletes.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">North Dakota Fighting Hawks</span> Athletic teams representing University of North Dakota

    The North Dakota Fighting Hawks are the athletic teams that represent the University of North Dakota (UND), located in the city of Grand Forks, North Dakota. The Fighting Hawks compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I level as a member of the Summit League. With 17 varsity teams, North Dakota is best known for its Ice Hockey team and American Football team. North Dakota's main rivalries are with the North Dakota State Bison and the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Clarkson Golden Knights</span> Athletic teams representing Clarkson University

    The Clarkson Golden Knights are composed of 20 teams representing Clarkson University in intercollegiate athletics, including men and women's alpine skiing, basketball, cross country, ice hockey, lacrosse, nordic skiing, soccer, and swimming. Men's sports include baseball and golf. Women's sports include softball and volleyball. The Golden Knights compete in the NCAA Division III and are members of the Liberty League for all sports except ice hockey, which competes in NCAA Division I, as a member of ECAC Hockey.

    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.

    Athletes and sports teams from North Carolina compete across an array of professional and amateur levels of competition, along with athletes who compete at the World and Olympic levels in their respective sport. Major league professional teams based in North Carolina include teams that compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), National Football League (NFL), National Hockey League (NHL), Major League Soccer (MLS), and National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). The state is also home to NASCAR Cup Series races. At the collegiate and university level, there are several North Carolina schools in various conferences across an array of divisions. North Carolina also has many minor league baseball teams. There are also a number of indoor football, indoor soccer, minor league basketball, and minor league ice hockey teams based throughout the state.

    This is a list of sports in Denver, Colorado, United States. Denver is home to many professional sports teams who are based out of Denver and surrounding cities in the metropolitan area. It is also one of the twelve American cities to house a team from each of the U.S. cities with teams from four major league sports. All four of its teams play their home games near downtown with three active sports venues which includes Empower Field at Mile High, home of the Denver Broncos; Ball Arena, home of the Colorado Avalanche and Denver Nuggets; and Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies. There is also a Major League Soccer (MLS) team based in the Denver metro area, but they do not play their home games in the city of Denver; the team is located in nearby Commerce City.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">College lacrosse</span> Lacrosse played by student athletes in North America

    College lacrosse is played by student-athletes at colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. In both countries, men's field lacrosse and women's lacrosse are played at both the varsity and club levels. College lacrosse in Canada is sponsored by the Canadian University Field Lacrosse Association (CUFLA) and Maritime University Field Lacrosse League (MUFLL), while in the United States, varsity men's and women's lacrosse is governed by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) and National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). There are also university lacrosse programs in the United Kingdom sponsored by British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) and programs in Japan.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Denver Pioneers</span> Sports teams representing the University of Denver

    The Denver Pioneers are the sports teams of the University of Denver (DU). They play in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I, and have amassed 35 NCAA titles as of 2024, which is in the top 15 among all schools. Denver is a member of The Summit League for men's and women's basketball, swimming and diving, men's and women's soccer, tennis and golf for both men and women, plus women's volleyball. Other DU teams play in various conferences in the sports that are not sponsored by The Summit. The men's ice hockey team is a charter member of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC), which formed in 2011 with play beginning in 2013. The lacrosse teams for men and women are members of the Big East Conference; the men began Big East play in the 2013–14 school year, while the women left the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) after the 2016 lacrosse season. Men's and women's skiing compete in the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association, while the women's gymnastics team became an affiliate of the Big 12 Conference starting with the 2015–16 season.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Lindenwood Lions</span> Athletic teams of Lindenwood University

    The Lindenwood Lions and Lady Lions are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Lindenwood University, located in St. Charles, Missouri, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the NCAA Division I ranks, primarily competing in the Ohio Valley Conference for most of its sports since the 2022–23 academic year.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Colorado College Tigers</span> Athletic teams of Colorado College

    The Colorado College Tigers are composed of 16 teams representing Colorado College in intercollegiate athletics, including men and women's basketball, cross country, lacrosse, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis, and track and field. Men's sports include ice hockey. Women's sports include volleyball. The Tigers compete in NCAA Division III and are members of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference for all sports except men's ice hockey and women's soccer, which compete in NCAA Division I. The men's ice hockey team is a member of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference, while the women's soccer team is a member of the Mountain West Conference.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">TCNJ Lions</span> Athletic teams representing The College of New Jersey

    The TCNJ Lions are the athletic teams representing The College of New Jersey (TCNJ). They are a member of the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) and compete within Division III of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">MSU Denver Roadrunners</span> Athletic teams representing Metropolitan State University of Denver

    The MSU Denver Roadrunners are the athletic teams that represent Metropolitan State University of Denver. The Roadrunners participate in 15 intercollegiate sports and compete in the Division II Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Big East Conference</span> U.S. college athletic conference that began in 2013

    The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the 11 full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and Midwest metropolitan areas. The conference was officially recognized as a Division I multi-sport conference on August 1, 2013, and since then conference members have won NCAA national championships in men's basketball, women's cross country, field hockey, men's lacrosse, and men's soccer. Val Ackerman is the commissioner.

    References

    1. "– Official Website Of The Denver Broncos". Denverbroncos.com. Retrieved 2010-07-30.

    38°59′50″N105°32′52″W / 38.9972°N 105.5478°W / 38.9972; -105.5478 (State of Colorado)