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, 17 NBA Championships, 6 Super Bowls, and 10 World Series. Early basketball and volleyball was created in Massachusetts, which homes the Basketball Hall of Fame, and the Volleyball Hall of Fame. 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 |
Boston Celtics | Basketball | 1946 | National Basketball Association | TD Garden |
Boston Bruins | Ice hockey | 1924 | National Hockey League | TD Garden |
Boston Red Sox | Baseball | 1901 | Major League Baseball | Fenway Park |
New England Patriots | Football | 1960 | National Football League | Gillette Stadium |
New England Revolution | Soccer | 1996 | Major League Soccer | Gillette Stadium |
Minor league or semi-professional clubs
Defunct or relocated professional clubs
College sports
NCAA: Divisions I and II
School | Nickname | Division | Conference |
Boston College | Eagles | I | Atlantic Coast Conference/Hockey East |
Boston University | Terriers | I | Patriot League/Hockey East |
Northeastern University | Huskies | I | Colonial Athletic Association/Hockey East |
Harvard University | Crimson | I | Ivy League/ECAC Hockey |
College of the Holy Cross | Crusaders | I | Patriot League/Atlantic Hockey/Hockey East |
University of Massachusetts Amherst | Minutemen/ Minutewomen | I | Atlantic 10 Conference/Hockey East |
University of Massachusetts Lowell | River Hawks | I | America East Conference/Hockey East |
Merrimack College | Warriors | I | Northeast Conference/Hockey East |
American International College | Yellow Jackets | I/II | Atlantic Hockey/Northeast-10 Conference |
Bentley University | Falcons | I/II | Atlantic Hockey/Northeast-10 Conference |
Assumption College | Greyhounds | II | Northeast-10 Conference |
Stonehill College | Skyhawks | II | Northeast-10 Conference |
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.
NCAA: Division III
School | Nickname | Division | Conference |
Amherst College | Mammoths | III | Eastern College Athletic Conference/New England Small College Athletic Conference |
Anna Maria College | Amcats | III | Great Northeast Athletic Conference/Eastern Collegiate Football Conference |
Babson College | Beavers | III | New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference |
Bay Path College | Wildcats | III | New England Collegiate Conference |
Becker College | Hawks | III | New England Collegiate Conference/Commonwealth Coast Conference/ Commonwealth Coast Football |
Brandeis University | Judges | III | University Athletic Association/Intercollegiate Fencing Association |
Bridgewater State University | Bears | III | Eastern College Athletic Conference/Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference/ Little East Conference |
Clark University | Cougars | III | New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference |
Curry College | Colonels | III | Commonwealth Coast Conference/Commonwealth Coast Football |
Dean College | Bulldogs | III | New England Collegiate Conference |
Eastern Nazarene College | Lions | III | New England Collegiate Conference |
Elms College | Blazers | III | New England Collegiate Conference |
Emerson College | Lions | III | New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference/Eastern College Athletic Conference |
Emmanuel College | Saints | III | Great Northeast Athletic Conference |
Endicott College | Gulls | III | Commonwealth Coast Conference/Commonwealth Coast Football/New England Collegiate Conference |
Fitchburg State College | Falcons | III | Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference |
Framingham State College | Rams | III | Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference |
Gordon College | Fighting Scots | III | Commonwealth Coast Conference |
Lasell College | Lasers | III | Great Northeast Athletic Conference |
Lesley University | Lynx | III | New England Collegiate Conference |
Mount Holyoke College | Lyons | III | New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference |
Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts | Trailblazers | III | Eastern College Athletic Conference/Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference |
Massachusetts Maritime Academy | Buccaneers | III | Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference/New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference |
Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Engineers | III | New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference |
Newbury College | Nighthawks | III | New England Collegiate Conference |
Nichols College | Bison | III | Commonwealth Coast Conference/Commonwealth Coast Football/New England Collegiate Conference |
Pine Manor College | Gators | III | American Collegiate Athletic Association |
Regis College | Pride | III | Great Northeast Athletic Conference |
Salem State College | Vikings | III | Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference |
Simmons College | Sharks | III | Great Northeast Athletic Conference/North Atlantic Conference |
Smith College | Pioneers | III | New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference |
Springfield College | Pride | III | New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference |
Suffolk University | Rams | III | Great Northeast Athletic Conference |
Tufts University | Jumbos | III | New England Small College Athletic Conference |
University of Massachusetts Boston | Beacons | III | Little East Conference/New England Hockey Conference |
University of Massachusetts Dartmouth | Corsairs | III | Little East Conference/Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference |
Wellesley College | Blues | III | New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference |
Wentworth Institute of Technology | Panthers | III | Commonwealth Coast Conference/Great Northeast Athletic Conference |
Western New England College | Golden Bears | III | Commonwealth Coast Conference/Commonwealth Coast Football |
Westfield State College | Owls | III | Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference |
Wheaton College, Massachusetts | Lyons | III | New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference |
Williams College | Ephs | III / I | New England Small College Athletic Conference |
Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Engineers | III | New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference |
Worcester State College | Lancers | III | Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference |
NAIA
High school
The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association 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, 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 and the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Council .Rugby will become the MIAA's 35th sport in 2016, following a 2015 MIAA vote that passed by a wide majority. 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.