Sports in Rochester, New York

Last updated

The city and metropolitan area of Rochester, New York, has several sports teams. Rochester was named the top minor league sports market in the country by Street & Smith's Sports Business Journal in July 2005, the number 10 "best golf city" in America by Golf Magazine in 2007, [1] and the fifth-best "sports town" in the country by Scarborough Research in September 2008. [2]

Contents

Professional sports

Although Rochester is home territory to the Buffalo Bills and the Buffalo Sabres, Rochester has several professional sports teams of its own. [3]

Rochester does not have a team in any of the top leagues in major North American team sports (American Football, Baseball, Basketball, or Ice Hockey). Of the current teams, two play in affiliated minor leagues: the baseball Rochester Red Wings, affiliated with the Washington Nationals, and the hockey Rochester Americans, affiliated with the Buffalo Sabres. Only one professional team in Rochester plays at the highest level of its sport, the indoor lacrosse Rochester Knighthawks; all others are independent minor-league teams.

As recently as 1994, there were only two professional sports franchises in Rochester: the baseball Red Wings and the hockey Americans. Since then, a number of new teams have been instituted and several have folded. In 2007, among cities in North America with at least seven (at the time) professional teams, Rochester was determined to be the only one whose teams all had cumulative winning regular season records. [4]

Major league professional teams in Rochester

ClubSportBegan playLeagueVenueTitlesChampionship years
Rochester Knighthawks Indoor lacrosse 2019 NLL MVP Arena 0N/A

Minor league professional teams in Rochester

ClubSportBegan playLeagueVenueTitlesChampionship years
Rochester Red Wings Baseball 1899 IL Innovative Field 201899, 1901, 1909, 1910, 1911, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1939,
1940, 1952, 1955, 1956, 1964, 1971, 1974, 1988, 1990, 1997
Rochester Royal Ballers Basketball 2023 ABA Roberts Wesleyan University
Rochester Royal Ballers Basketball 2024 WABA Roberts Wesleyan University
Rochester Americans Ice hockey 1956 AHL Blue Cross Arena 61964–65, 1965–66, 1967–68, 1982–83, 1986–87, 1995–96
Rochester Lancers Indoor soccer 2010 MASL2 Total Sports Experience0
Flower City Union Soccer 2021 NISA Rochester Community Sports Complex Stadium 12023

The Rochester Red Wings baseball club, the AAA affiliate of the Washington Nationals, are one of the oldest existing franchises in all of professional sports. They play in the International League and have won at least one pennant or championship in each decade of the 20th century. The Rochester Americans ice hockey team are the AHL affiliate for the NHL Buffalo Sabres and are known as the "Amerks."

Innovative Field, including the Rochester skyline. Frontier Field 2.jpg
Innovative Field, including the Rochester skyline.

Lacrosse has seen some popularity in Rochester. The Rochester Knighthawks play box lacrosse in the National Lacrosse League during winter and spring. The current Knighthawks team replaced the former Rochester Knighthawks that played in Rochester from 1995 until 2019. In outdoor lacrosse, the Rochester Rattlers were a charter member of Major League Lacrosse, but the franchise was transferred away after winning the championship in 2008; the Rattlers were then re-established in 2011 before being relocated a final time in 2017.

Rochester Community Sports Complex Stadium PAETEC Park overview.JPG
Rochester Community Sports Complex Stadium

The Rochester Razorsharks were a basketball team active from 2008–2017 most recently in the Premier Basketball League.

The Rochester Americans Amerks vs bingh sens.jpg
The Rochester Americans

Professional soccer, once a popular sport in Rochester, has declined over the years. The Rochester Rhinos soccer club played for many years in the A-League, which was the second-highest level American soccer league; the Rhinos won the U.S. Open Cup against Major League Soccer competition in 1999 and won league championships in 1998, 2000, 2001, and 2015. Despite the success, the popularity of the club declined into dire levels and the club suspended operations in 2018. [5] The Rhinos team was rebranded as Rochester New York FC and in 2022 played one season prior to again ceasing operations. [6] The Rochester Lancers started up in indoor soccer in 2011 and folded by 2015. The Lancers were re-launched in 2018 and currently play in Major Arena Soccer League 2. In 2020, the National Independent Soccer Association approved a team for Rochester and the Flower City Union took the field in 2022.

In women's sports, Rochester was formerly the home of the Western New York Flash, 2011 Women's Professional Soccer champions. In prior years, the Rochester Ravens have competed in the semi-pro W-League under a few different names. The Filarets were a notable women's basketball team that played in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s.

The absence of a major pro sports team has not always been the case. From 1920 to 1925, Rochester was home to the Rochester Jeffersons, a charter member of the National Football League. From 1948 to 1957, the Rochester Royals played in the National Basketball Association, winning the NBA championship in 1951. In soccer, the Rochester Lancers played from 1970 to 1980 in the top-level North American Soccer League and became NASL champions in the 1970 season.

Since 1877, 29 teams in eight professional sports have represented Rochester, according to The Rochester Sports Project by local sports historian Douglas Brei. In spring 2006, Brei showed that Rochester's professional sports teams were collectively approaching 25,000 games played. That game was played on June 16, 2006, when Red Wings hosted the Indianapolis Indians at Frontier Field. He also reports that only six active franchises in the history of North American professional sports have played in the same city and same league continuously and uninterrupted since the 19th century: Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals, and Rochester Red Wings.[ citation needed ]

U.S Women's Soccer Team in Rochester

The United States Women's Soccer Team has played at Eunice Kennedy Shriver Stadium, Frontier Field and most recently Rochester Community Sports Complex Stadium (under a number of previous names).

Eunice Kennedy Shriver Stadium

Innovative Field

Rochester Community Sports Complex Stadium

Golf

Rochester has a rich history in golf dating back to the 19th century. The area's oldest club, The Country Club of Rochester was founded in 1896. Oak Hill Country Club, which is often included in America's Top 100 Courses [7] is in the suburb of Pittsford. Oak Hill has hosted all 6 of the men's major championships: the Ryder Cup (1995), Men's U.S Open (1956, 1968, 1989) and PGA Championship (1980, 2003, 2013, 2023). The Wegman's LPGA was played at Locust Hill Country Club from 1977 to 2009. The LPGA Championship was played at Locust Hill from 2010 to 2013 and at the Monroe Golf Club in 2014. The Xerox Classic was a golf tournament on the Nationwide Tour from 2005 to 2008 played at Irondequoit Country Club. Numerous golf magazines have praised Rochester for its rich passion for the game and its high level of competition.[ citation needed ]

Golf Courses In Rochester

The following is a list of golf courses located in Rochester, New York:

  1. Oak Hill Country Club
  2. Ravenwood Golf Club
  3. Durand Eastman Golf Course
  4. Genesee Valley Golf Course
  5. Webster Golf Club
  6. Farview Golf Course
  7. Morgan's Crossing
  8. Parkview Fairways Golf Course
  9. Webster Golf Club
  10. The Links at Greystone
  11. Deerfield Golf & Country Club
  12. Island Valley Golf Course
  13. Deerfield Golf & Country Club
  14. Island Valley Golf Course
  15. Blue Heron Hills Golf
  16. Eagle Vale Golf Club
  17. Champion Hills Country Club
  18. Rochester Golf & Country Club

College sports

The RIT Tigers men's hockey team (team in white) during a game in 2019. RIT Men's Hockey vs RMU Feb 23 2019.jpg
The RIT Tigers men's hockey team (team in white) during a game in 2019.

Rochester is the largest Metropolitan Statistical Area in the U.S. which does not include at least one college or university participating at the NCAA Division I level in all sports. Roberts Wesleyan College competes at the NCAA Division II level. But most other area college sports are played at the NCAA Division III level. The only exceptions are the RIT men's and women's ice hockey teams, which compete at the Division I level. The men's team made it to the NCAA Frozen Four in 2010 and the women's team won the Division III national championship in 2012, just before switching over to Division I. The Nazareth Golden Flyers men's volleyball team won the 2011 NCAA DIII national championship. Also the Nazareth Lacrosse teams won a pair of national championships in the late 1990s. University of Rochester teams have won four national championships at the NCAA Division III level, with women's soccer winning in 1986 and 1987, men's basketball winning in 1990, and men's cross-country winning in 1991. Rochester Institute of Technology men's soccer team finished national runner-up at the NCAA Division III tournament in 1988.

Among junior colleges, Monroe Community College has had some success in NJCAA Division II sports, including golf. The school won back-to-back national championships for women's lacrosse in 2010 and 2011.[ citation needed ]

NCAA Championships Hosted

-2023 NCAA D3 Track & Field

-2016 NCAA D3 Men's Golf

-2016 NCAA D3 Men's Volleyball

-2013 NCAA D3 Men's Volleyball

-2012 NCAA D3 Women's Hockey

-2011 NCAA D3 Women's Hockey

-1988 NCAA D3 Men's Soccer

Club Sports

Rugby

Rochester is home to two men's rugby teams, the Rochester Aardvarks and the Rochester Colonials. Both have long histories, with the Aardvarks celebrating their 50th anniversary in 2016, and the Rochester Colonials celebrating 40 years in 2020. Both rugby clubs are among the few in the country to own their own pitch: Aardvark Park in Henrietta, New York, while the Colonials play their matches at Marianne Cope Parish in Henrietta, New York. The Aardvarks and the Colonials both have hosted local and statewide tournaments. The Rochester Colonials hosted the 2007 USA Rugby National Collegiate All-Star Championships, Rochester's first national tournament, as well as the 2009 NYS Rugby Upstates Tournament and the 2009 New York State High School Rugby Championships. Both teams participate in the annual Can-Am Rugby Tournament in Saranac Lake, New York in early August. Rochester also has a Women's Rugby club, the Rochester Renegades, who celebrated their 30th anniversary in 2017. The Renegades started the New York State Rugby Women's Division. [ citation needed ]

Other

Rochester Erin's Isle is a gaelic football club located in Rochester. [8]

The Rochester Bicycling Club is a social and fitness bicycling club. [9]

Rochester is also home to Rochester Rhythm the three time champions of the American Extreme Paintball League or AXBL.[ citation needed ]

The Rochester, New York LPGA Amateur Golf Association chapter (formerly EWGA) organizes leagues, golf training, and golf events and networking for the area's amateur women golfers.

Monroe County supports two adult baseball (hardball) leagues – the Rochester chapters of the Men's Senior Baseball League (MSBL) and National Adult Baseball Association (NABA).

The Rochester Curling Club is the westernmost curling club in New York. [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sports in Syracuse</span> Overview article

Syracuse, New York, United States, is a top-division, minor-league and college sports city. Teams include the Syracuse Mets of AAA Baseball and the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL. The most attended sporting events in Syracuse are those of the NCAA Division I Syracuse University Orange.

The Syracuse Orange are the athletic teams that represent Syracuse University. The school is a member of NCAA Division I and the Atlantic Coast Conference. Until 2013, Syracuse was a member of the Big East Conference.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sports in the United States</span>

Sports in the United States are an important part of the nation's culture. Historically, the national sport has been baseball. However, in more recent decades, American football has been the most popular spectator sport based on broadcast viewership audience. Basketball has grown into the mainstream American sports scene since the 1980s, with ice hockey and soccer doing the same around the turn of the 21st century. These sports comprise the "Big Five".

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penn State Nittany Lions</span> Intercollegiate sports teams of Penn State University

The Penn State Nittany Lions are the athletic teams of Pennsylvania State University, except for the women's basketball team, known as the Lady Lions. The school colors are navy blue and white. The school mascot is the Nittany Lion. The intercollegiate athletics logo was commissioned in 1983.

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.

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

The Towson Tigers, formerly the Towson College Knights, are the athletics teams of Towson University. All of the major athletic teams compete in the Coastal Athletic Association with 19 Division I athletic teams. Gymnastics competes in the EAGL conference, having rejoined the league in the Spring of 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Navy Midshipmen</span> Sports teams of the United States Naval Academy

The Navy Midshipmen are the athletic teams that represent the United States Naval Academy. The academy sponsors 36 varsity sports teams and 12 club sport teams. Both men's and women's teams are called Navy Midshipmen or Mids. They participate in the NCAA's Division I, as a non-football member of the Patriot League, a football-only member of the American Athletic Conference in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), and a member of the Collegiate Sprint Football League (men), Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges (men), Eastern Association of Women's Rowing Colleges, Eastern Intercollegiate Gymnastics League (men), Mid-Atlantic Squash Conference (men) and Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association. Navy is also one of approximately 300 members of the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Middlebury Panthers</span> Intercollegiate sports teams of Middlebury College

The Middlebury Panthers are the 31 varsity teams of Middlebury College that compete in the New England Small College Athletic Conference. The Panthers lead the NESCAC in total number of national championships, having won 42 team titles since the conference lifted its ban on NCAA play in 1994. Middlebury enjoys national success in soccer, cross country running, field hockey, men's basketball, women's hockey, skiing, men's lacrosse and women's lacrosse, and fields 31 varsity NCAA teams and several competitive club teams including a sailing team (MCSC), a crew team, a water polo team, an ultimate frisbee team, and a rugby team. Since 2000, Middlebury's varsity squads have won 84 NESCAC titles. Currently, 28% of students participate in varsity sports.

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

The Furman Paladins are the varsity athletic teams representing Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina, in intercollegiate athletics.

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

The Princeton Tigers are the athletic teams of Princeton University. The school sponsors 35 varsity teams in 20 sports. The school has won several NCAA national championships, including one in men's fencing, three in women's lacrosse, six in men's lacrosse, and eight in men's golf. Princeton's men's and women's crews have also won numerous national rowing championships. The field hockey team made history in 2012 as the first Ivy League team to win the NCAA Division I Championship in field hockey.

Jacksonville is home to a number of professional sports teams, and the city has a long history of athletics. The Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL) compete at the major league level. Additionally, the PGA Tour is headquartered in the suburb of Ponte Vedra Beach, where it hosts The Players Championship every year. All Elite Wrestling, the second-largest professional wrestling promotion in the U.S. behind WWE, has its headquarters in the Jaguars' stadium, largely due to its shared ownership with the Jaguars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UC Davis Aggies</span> Sports teams of University of California, Davis

The UC Davis Aggies are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Davis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sacred Heart Pioneers</span> Collegiate sports club in the United States

The Sacred Heart Pioneers are the 32 sports teams representing Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut in intercollegiate athletics. The Pioneers compete in the NCAA Division I and are members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, Atlantic Hockey, Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association, and New England Women's Hockey Alliance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salve Regina Seahawks</span> Athletic teams representing Salve Regina University

Salve Regina University competes on the NCAA Division III level and is a member of the Commonwealth Coast Conference and Commonwealth Coast Football. The university offers ten varsity sports for women, eight for men, and one co-ed sport (sailing). Sailing is governed by the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association, and its subdivision, the New England Intercollegiate Sailing Association.
The school also offers men's and women's rugby, governed by the Colonial Coast Rugby Conference, USA Rugby and the International Rugby Board. The men's rugby program competes at the Division III level, and the women's program competes on the Division III level in the National Small College Rugby Organization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alabama–Huntsville Chargers</span> Athletic teams based at University of Alabama in Huntsville

The Alabama–Huntsville Chargers are the athletic teams that represent the University of Alabama in Huntsville, located in Huntsville, Alabama, in intercollegiate sports at the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Chargers have primarily competed in the Gulf South Conference since the 1993–94 academic year.

Upstate New York is a storied region in North American athletics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sports in San Diego</span>

Sports in San Diego includes major professional league teams, other highest-level professional league teams, minor league teams, and college athletics. San Diego hosts one team of the major professional leagues, the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). San Diego FC of Major League Soccer (MLS) begins play in 2025. The city is home to several universities whose teams compete in various NCAA Division I sports, most notably the San Diego State Aztecs. The Farmers Insurance Open, a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, is played annually at Torrey Pines Golf Course.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sports in Atlanta</span>

Sports in Atlanta has a rich history, including the oldest on-campus NCAA Division I football stadium, Bobby Dodd Stadium, built in 1913 by the students of Georgia Tech. Atlanta also played host to the second intercollegiate football game in the South, played between the A&M College of Alabama and the University of Georgia in Piedmont Park in 1892; this game is now called the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry. The city hosts college football's annual Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl and the Peachtree Road Race, the world's largest 10 km race. Atlanta was the host city for the Centennial 1996 Summer Olympics, and Downtown Atlanta's Centennial Olympic Park was built for and commemorates the games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lacrosse in the United States</span>

The sport of lacrosse has been played in the United States by Native Americans long before European exploration. The sport is most popular in the northeast and mid-Atlantic areas of the country. However, the game has recently developed into a popular team sport for both men and women in all regions of the United States.

References

  1. "Rochester makes 10-best golf cities list (November 27, 2007)". Democrat & Chronicle. Archived from the original on 2009-01-07. Retrieved 2007-11-27.
  2. "Unknown".[ permanent dead link ]
  3. "Rochester Sports". Archived from the original on December 23, 2007. Retrieved 2008-01-13.
  4. "Bob Matthews Sports Column, July 21, 2007". Democrat and Chronicle. 2007-07-21. Archived from the original on 2007-08-08. Retrieved 2007-07-21.
  5. "Owners need $1.3 million by Nov. 30 or the Rhinos are extinct for 2018 season". Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. Retrieved 2017-11-16.
  6. "Rochester NY FC ceases operations, will not play in 2023". RochesterFirst. 2023-03-11. Retrieved 2023-04-30.
  7. "America's 100 Greatest Golf Courses" . Retrieved 2015-08-19.
  8. Rochester Erin's Isle Gaelic Football Club - GAA Archived 2014-02-06 at the Wayback Machine . Rochestergaa.com. Retrieved on 2013-08-02.
  9. "Rochester Bicycling Club - Home". rochesterbicyclingclub.org. Retrieved 2023-05-02.
  10. "Rochester Curling Club - Home". rochestercurling.org. Retrieved 2023-04-30.