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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 Mets, who play in the International League, are a AAA Minor League Baseball affiliate of the New York Mets.
The Syracuse Crunch are an American Hockey League affiliate of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Syracuse has had several top-level pro teams. Most notable are the Syracuse Nationals, an NBA team which played 17 seasons in Syracuse (1947–1963) before moving to Philadelphia to become the Philadelphia 76ers; and two different Major League Baseball teams: the Syracuse Stars of the National League in 1879, which didn't finish their first season; and the Syracuse Stars of the American Association in 1890.
Syracuse has been represented in professional baseball for all but four years since 1877, when the Syracuse Stars competed in the League Alliance, an early minor league. Syracuse fielded two major league versions of the Stars: in the 1879 National League and the 1890 American Association. Apart from those seasons, however, the Stars were members of high minor leagues such as the Eastern League (forerunner to the International) and the New York State League through 1917. From 1918 to 1927, the Stars competed in the International League and were an early farm team of the St. Louis Cardinals. In 1928 the IL franchise moved to Montreal and became the Montreal Royals. The Stars moved down one classification to the New York–Penn League for 11⁄2 seasons before moving to nearby Utica. [1]
Syracuse was from 1946 until 1963 home to the NBA's Syracuse Nationals, which are now the Philadelphia 76ers. They played 17 seasons in Syracuse and won the NBA championship in 1955. The NBA's 24-second clock was invented in and first came into use in Syracuse. In March 2005 the city dedicated a monument to this fact. It is a 125% scaled model of the original shot clock used.
The Syracuse Upstate Trojans played a single season in the American Basketball Association from 2023 to 2024.
Syracuse had a professional football team from 1890 to 1900 known as the Syracuse Athletic Association, [2] the independent All-Syracuse team which was known in 1921 as the Syracuse Pros in the American Professional Football Association before leaving the league and reverting to the All-Syracuse team, and briefly in the 1936 American Football League season known as the Syracuse Braves. [3]
In 1902, the first World Series of Football was played at New York's original Madison Square Garden. The five teams in the tournament were the New York Knickerbockers, Syracuse AC, Warlow AC, the Orange (New Jersey) AC, and New York. Syracuse won the tournament 6–0 with Glenn (Pop) Warner at guard. [4] The December 28, 1902, game where Syracuse defeated New York 5–0 at Madison Square Garden is credited as the first indoor pro football game. [5]
The Syracuse Express were established in 1984, and were members of the Mid Continental Football League, before that league contracted into the Midwest. They joined the upstart New York Amateur Football League (NYAFL), where they became one of the league's premier teams, along with their rivals, the Buffalo Gladiators. After absorbing the Cortland Warriors, in 1999 the team became the Central New York Express, although they still played their games in suburban Syracuse. The Express won one NYAFL title in 2003. The NYAFL merged to become the Northeastern Football Alliance and with the change, the team changed and was replaced by a new team named the Syracuse Shock.
Syracuse had a team for one season in the American Indoor Football League called the Syracuse Soldiers.
Syracuse has a minor league football team, Syracuse Strong.
Syracuse has had several American Hockey League teams, which traditionally did not last longer than three seasons. The Syracuse Blazers began play in the Eastern Hockey League in 1973. The league disbanded in 1973; the team then affiliated with the North American Hockey League. 1994 marked the introduction of a new team, the Syracuse Crunch, which have been playing at the Upstate Medical University Arena since.
The Syracuse Spirit was a member of the American Lacrosse League, a short lived professional lacrosse league in 1988, based in Syracuse, New York. The Spirit played their home games at the Griffin Field in Liverpool, New York. The general manager of the Spirit was Tom Scofield and the head coach was Jim Booth. The Spirit had a 4–1 record when the league folded.
Syracuse had a team in the National Lacrosse League (NLL) called the Syracuse Smash for three seasons from 1998 to 2000. They moved to Ottawa in 2001 and became the Ottawa Rebel.
The first professional team in the city were the Syracuse Scorpions, who played in the American Soccer League in the 1970s. The Syracuse Salty Dogs existed for two seasons (2002–2004) until folding due to financial problems. The game attendance had been among the highest in the A-League. The Syracuse Silver Knights played in the Major Arena Soccer League from 2010 before moving to Utica and becoming Utica City FC in 2018. [6]
Sports venues in and around Syracuse include the following:
Syracuse University's JMA Wireless Dome can hold over 33,000 and 50,000 people, for basketball and football respectively, making it the largest domed stadium in the Northeastern United States and the largest on a college campus. Especially the Orange's basketball games have been making use of the Dome's capacity over the past few years. The third most attended college sporting events are lacrosse games, with the Orange at times drawing over 6,000 fans.
Syracuse University, NCAA Division I
Le Moyne College, NCAA Division I
State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, USCAA
Onondaga Community College, NJCAA Division III
Note: Until 2004, Syracuse University's teams were called the Orangemen and Orangewomen. Now they are known as the Orange.
The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I. Its current 13 full members are located in five Northeastern states: Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York.
The JMA Wireless Dome, originally the Carrier Dome (1980–2022) and colloquially called "The Dome," or more recently "The JMA Dome," is a domed stadium in Syracuse, New York, United States. Located on the campus of Syracuse University in the University Hill neighborhood, it is home to the Syracuse Orange football, basketball, and lacrosse teams. In 2006–07, the women's basketball team began playing home games in the Carrier Dome. In May 2022, Syracuse University announced in April 2022 that Carrier Global Corp. would no longer hold naming rights to the venue. When Syracuse University and JMA Wireless announced the new naming rights in May 2022, it marked the first time the venue's name would change since the opening in 1980.
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.
Sports in the United States are an important part of the nation's culture. Historically, the most popular 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".
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.
The Providence Friars are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Providence College, located in Providence, Rhode Island. They compete in the Big East Conference for every sport except for ice hockey, where they compete in Hockey East. The Big East Conference was founded in 1979 by former athletic director and men's basketball coach Dave Gavitt. On December 15, 2012, Providence and the other seven Catholic, non-FBS schools announced that they were departing the Big East for a new conference; on March 7, 2013, it was officially confirmed that Providence's new conference would operate under the Big East name. The women's volleyball team, which had been an associate member of the America East Conference before the Big East split, remained in that conference for one more season before joining the Big East for the 2014 season.
The Bucknell Bison are the athletic teams that represent Bucknell University. The program is a member of the Patriot League for most NCAA Division I sports and Division I FCS in football.
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.
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.
The Bentley Falcons are composed of 24 teams representing Bentley University in intercollegiate athletics, including men and women's basketball, cross country, lacrosse, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis, and track and field. Men's sports include baseball, football, golf, and ice hockey. Women's sports include field hockey, softball, and volleyball. The Falcons compete in NCAA Division II and are members of the Northeast-10 Conference for all sports except the men's ice hockey team, which competes in Division I as a member of Atlantic Hockey.
The Hobart Statesmen are composed of 15 teams representing Hobart and William Smith Colleges in intercollegiate athletics, including men's alpine skiing, basketball, baseball, cross country, football, golf, ice hockey, lacrosse, rowing, sailing, soccer, squash, swimming and diving, tennis, and volleyball. The Statesmen compete in the NCAA Division III and are members of the Liberty League for all sports except men's volleyball, men's ice hockey (NEHC), and men's lacrosse, which competes in NCAA Division I, as a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference.
Sports in New York's Capital District are very popular, and there is a rich history of professional teams and college athletics.
Upstate New York is a storied region in North American athletics.
The St. Lawrence Saints are composed of 33 teams representing St. Lawrence University in intercollegiate athletics, including men and women's alpine skiing, basketball, cross country, golf, ice hockey, lacrosse, nordic skiing, riding, rowing, soccer, squash, swimming, tennis, and track and field. Men's sports include baseball and football. Women's sports include field hockey, softball, and volleyball. The Saints compete in the NCAA Division III and are members of the Liberty League for all sports except ice hockey, and men's tennis which competes in NCAA Division I..
The West Chester Golden Rams represent West Chester University of Pennsylvania, which is located in West Chester, Pennsylvania, in intercollegiate sports. They compete in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) in NCAA Division II.
The Colby Mules are the varsity and club athletic teams of Colby College, a liberal arts college located in Waterville, Maine. Colby's varsity teams compete in the New England Small College Athletic Conference of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III. The college offers 32 varsity teams, plus club sports, intramural sports called I-play.
A variety of sports are popular in the US state of South Carolina.
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, and the fifth-best "sports town" in the country by Scarborough Research in September 2008.