Sports in Colorado
Sports in Colorado includes professional teams, college sports, and individual sports from the Denver Metropolitan Area and other cities.
Professional sports teams[]
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]
The Colorado Springs Snow Sox professional baseball team is based in Colorado Springs. The team is a member of the Pecos League, an independent baseball league which is not affiliated with Major or Minor League Baseball.[2][3]
Club | Home | First game | Sport | League |
---|---|---|---|---|
Denver Broncos | Denver | September 9, 1960 | Football | National Football League |
Denver Barbarians | Denver | Spring 1967 | Rugby union | Rugby Super League |
Denver Nuggets | Denver | September 27, 1967 | Basketball | National Basketball Association |
Colorado Rockies | Denver | April 5, 1993 | Baseball | Major League Baseball |
Colorado Avalanche | Denver | October 6, 1995 | Ice hockey | National Hockey League |
Colorado Rapids | Commerce City | April 13, 1996 | Soccer | Major League Soccer |
Denver | December 2018 | Indoor soccer | Major Arena Soccer League 2 | |
Denver Bulldogs | Denver | Summer 1998 | Australian rules football | USAFL |
Colorado Mammoth | Denver | January 3, 2003 | Lacrosse | National Lacrosse League |
Colorado Eagles | Loveland | October 17, 2003 | Ice hockey | American Hockey League |
Rocky Mountain Rollergirls | Denver | July 2005 | Roller derby | Women's Flat Track Derby Association |
Boulder County Bombers | Boulder | November 2011 | Roller derby | Women's Flat Track Derby Association |
Grand Junction Rockies | Grand Junction | June 18, 2012 | Baseball | Pioneer League (Rookie, Minor League Baseball) |
Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC | Colorado Springs | March 28, 2015 | Soccer | USL Championship |
Rocky Mountain Vibes | Colorado Springs | June 2019 | Baseball | Pioneer League (Rookie, Minor League Baseball) |
Former professional sports teams[]
Club | Sport | League |
---|---|---|
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[a] |
Colorado Chill (folded along with the NWBL) | Basketball | National Women's Basketball League |
Colorado Crossover | Basketball | International 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 | 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 | Soccer | USL 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 hockey | Central Hockey League |
- ^ 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.
Team | School | City | Conference |
---|---|---|---|
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] |
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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[]
References[]
- ^ "– Official Website Of The Denver Broncos". Denverbroncos.com. Retrieved 2010-07-30.
- ^ "The Colorado Springs SnowSox coming to our area-From the Sidelines". The Tribune. January 12, 2021.
- ^ "Give a big welcome to CO Springs new baseball team, the Snow Sox". fox21news.com. June 15, 2021.
External links[]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sports in Colorado. |
- Sports in Colorado