Sports in Colorado
This list of sports in the U.S. State of 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]
Former professional sports teams
- ^ 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 | USAF Academy[a] | Mountain West[b] |
| Colorado Buffaloes | University of Colorado Boulder | Boulder | Big 12 |
| Colorado College Tigers[c] | Colorado College | Colorado Springs | NCHC (men's ice hockey) Mountain West (women's soccer) |
| Colorado State Rams | Colorado State University | Fort Collins | Mountain West (Pac-12 in July 2026) |
| Denver Pioneers | University of Denver | Denver | Summit[d] (WCC in July 2026) |
| Northern Colorado Bears | University of Northern Colorado | Greeley | Big Sky[e] |
- ^ The Academy lies to the north of the Colorado Springs city limits; it is respectively designated by the US Census Bureau and US Postal Service as "Air Force Academy, Colorado" and "USAF Academy, Colorado".
- ^ Many Falcons teams compete outside the MW in sports that conference does not sponsor. Notably, the men's ice hockey team plays in Atlantic Hockey America, the men's lacrosse team in the Atlantic Sun Conference, and the men's wrestling team 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 a small number of 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 either DU's current home of the Summit League or its future home of the West Coast Conference. 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 baseball and men's golf teams compete in the Summit League, and the men's 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.
The U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program (WCAP) is located at Fort Carson and serves as the training system for active duty, National Guard and Reserve soldiers to compete for Team USA at the Olympic and the Paralympic Games.[2]
Since 2002, Aspen has served as the host city for ESPN's annual Winter X Games competitions.[3]
See also
- Colorado Sports Hall of Fame
- Sports in Denver
- Bibliography of Colorado
- Geography of Colorado
- History of Colorado
- Index of Colorado-related articles
- List of Colorado-related lists
- Outline of Colorado
References
- ^ "– Official Website Of The Denver Broncos". Denverbroncos.com. Retrieved 2010-07-30.
- ^ "World Class Athlete Program beyond the gym; helping the Army and community". www.army.mil. 2018-06-28. Retrieved 2026-01-25.
- ^ Blevins, Jason (2025-05-13). "Winter X Games will return to Aspen in January 2026 for its 25th year before new format rolls out". The Colorado Sun. Retrieved 2026-01-25.
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