Sports in Colorado

Sports in Colorado include professional teams, college sports, and individual sports.

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]

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
Colorado Rumble FC	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
Denver Outlaws	Denver	May 20, 2006	Lacrosse	Major League Lacrosse
Colorado Raptors	Glendale	Fall 2006	Rugby union	Major League Rugby
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 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^[b]	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 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.
^ The Sky Sox relocated to San Antonio after the 2018 season, now play as the San Antonio Missions.

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.

References

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

External links

[2] Now known as the NBA G League.

[3] The Sky Sox relocated to San Antonio after the 2018 season, now play as the San Antonio Missions.

[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.

[5] 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.

[6] 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.

[7] The wrestling team competes in the Big 12 Conference.

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

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