Sports in Colorado

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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 (Rookie, Minor League Baseball)
Rocky Mountain Vibes Colorado SpringsJune 2019Baseball Pioneer League (Rookie, Minor League Baseball)

    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 Colorado Springs Mountain West [a 1]
    Colorado Buffaloes University of Colorado Boulder Boulder Pac-12
    Colorado College Tigers [a 2] 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 [a 3]
    Northern Colorado Bears University of Northern Colorado Greeley Big Sky [a 4]
    1. The Air Force men's ice hockey team plays in Atlantic Hockey. The men's lacrosse team plays in the Southern Conference. The wrestling team competes in the Big 12 Conference.
    2. 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 only five Division III schools allowed to award athletic scholarships in its Division I sports.
    3. 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.
    4. 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

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

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    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Colorado Buffaloes</span> Intercollegiate sports teams of University of Colorado

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    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 and is located in nearby Commerce City.

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    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)