Sports in Massachusetts
Sports in Massachusetts have a long history with both amateur athletics and professional teams. Most of the major professional teams have won multiple championships in their respective leagues. Massachusetts teams have won 6 Stanley Cups (Boston Bruins),[1] 17 NBA Championships (Boston Celtics),[2] 6 Super Bowls (New England Patriots),[3] and 10 World Series (9 Boston Red Sox, 1 Boston Braves).[4] Early basketball and volleyball was created in Massachusetts, which homes the Basketball Hall of Fame (Springfield),[5] and the Volleyball Hall of Fame (Holyoke).[5] Massachusetts also houses the Cape Cod Baseball League. It is also home to prestigious sports events such as the Boston Marathon and the Head of the Charles Regatta. The Falmouth Road Race in running and the Fitchburg Longsjo Classic in bicycle racing are also very popular events with long histories.
The PGA Tour Deutsche Bank Championship is a regular professional golf tour stop in the state. Massachusetts has played host to nine U.S. Opens, four U.S. Women's Opens, two Ryder Cups, and one U.S. Senior Open.
Many colleges and universities in Massachusetts are active in college athletics. There are a number of NCAA Division I members in the state for multiple sports: Boston College, Boston University, Northeastern University, Harvard University, College of the Holy Cross, University of Massachusetts Amherst, and the University of Massachusetts Lowell.
Major league professional teams
| Club | Sports | Founded | League | Venue (Capacity) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Celtics | Basketball | 1946 | National Basketball Association | TD Garden (18,600) |
| Boston Bruins | Ice hockey | 1924 | National Hockey League | TD Garden (17,600) |
| Boston Red Sox | Baseball | 1901 | Major League Baseball | Fenway Park (37,500) |
| New England Patriots | Football | 1960 | National Football League | Gillette Stadium (68,750) |
| New England Revolution | Soccer | 1996 | Major League Soccer | Gillette Stadium (68,750)[lower-alpha 1] |
- Capacity for soccer is normally restricted to 20,000.
Minor league or semi-professional clubs
| Club | Sports | Established[lower-alpha 1] | League | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Cannons | Lacrosse (Outdoor) | 2001 | Major League Lacrosse | Harvard Stadium |
| Boston Pride | Ice hockey | 2015 | National Women's Hockey League | Warrior Ice Arena |
| Boston Renegades | Football | 2015 | Women's Football Alliance | Dilboy Stadium |
| Boston Storm | Women's Lacrosse | 2016 | United Women's Lacrosse League | "Barnstorming" format |
| Boston Thirteens | Rugby league | 2009 | USA Rugby League | Irish Cultural Center |
| Lowell Spinners | Baseball | 1996 | New York–Penn League (Short-Season A Minor League Baseball) |
Edward A. LeLacheur Park |
| Massachusetts Pirates | Indoor football | 2018 | National Arena League | DCU Center |
| New England Free Jacks | Rugby union | 2018 | Major League Rugby | Union Point Sports Complex |
| New England Revolution II[lower-alpha 2] | Soccer | 2019 | USL League One | Gillette Stadium |
| Springfield Thunderbirds | Ice hockey | 2016 | American Hockey League | MassMutual Center |
| Western Mass Pioneers | Soccer | 1998 | USL League Two | Lusitano Stadium |
| Worcester Railers | Ice hockey | 2017 | ECHL | DCU Center |
- The year the organization was established in Massachusetts.
- Currently branded as "Revolution II".
Defunct or relocated professional clubs
College sports
NCAA: Divisions I and II
In addition to the schools listed here, Franklin Pierce University, located near the state border in Rindge, New Hampshire, plays its men's and women's ice hockey home games in Massachusetts on the campus of The Winchendon School. FPU plays men's hockey in the Northeast-10 and women's hockey in the New England Women's Hockey Alliance.
- Stonehill will add women's ice hockey in 2021–22 as a member of the New England Women's Hockey Alliance.
NCAA: Division III
NAIA
| School | Nickname | Conference |
|---|---|---|
| Fisher College | Falcons | Sunrise Athletic Conference |
High school
The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) is an organization that sponsors activities in thirty-three sports, comprising 374 public and private high schools in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. The MIAA is a member of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), which writes the rules for most U.S. high school sports and activities. The MIAA was founded in 1978, and was preceded by both the Massachusetts Secondary School Principals' Association (MSSPA) (1942–78) and the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Council (MIAC) (1950–78).
Rugby will become the MIAA's 35th sport in 2016, following a 2015 MIAA vote that passed by a wide majority.[7] As of 2015, there are 19 boys’ teams and 5 girls’ teams across the state, with the majority of the Catholic Conference schools fielding rugby teams.[7]
References
- "Stanley Cup Winners". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2009-10-19.
- "Celtics History – Championship Wins". National Basketball Association. Retrieved 2009-10-19.
- "Super Bowl History". National Football League. Retrieved 2009-10-19.
- "World Series Winners, Records, and Results and Postseason Series". Retrieved 2014-10-30.
- "Volleyball pushed as official team sport of Mass". Boston Herald. 2009-10-04. Retrieved 2009-10-19.
- http://www.americaeast.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=14000&ATCLID=669426
- "Tuesday’s school roundup: MIAA votes to add rugby for 2016-17", Boston Globe, Eric Russo, May 6, 2015.
External links
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