Sports in Minnesota include professional teams in all major sports, Olympic Games contenders and medalists, especially in the Winter Olympics, collegiate teams in major and small-school conferences and associations and active amateur teams and individual sports. The State of Minnesota has a team in all five major professional leagues (Major League Baseball, National Football League, National Basketball Association, National Hockey League and Major League Soccer). Along with professional sports, there are numerous collegiate teams including the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers and St. Thomas Tommies in NCAA Division I, as well as many others across the Minnesota public and private colleges and universities.
Major professional sports
Baseball
The Minnesota Twins are an MLB team that moved to Minnesota in 1961 from Washington D.C., where they were known as the Washington Senators. The Twins played their home games at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington from 1961 to 1981 and the Metrodome in Minneapolis from 1982 to 2009, moving to their current stadium, Target Field, in 2010. They have been to the World Series in 1965, 1987 and 1991, winning in 1987 and 1991. In 2001, the Twins and the Montreal Expos were threatened with closure in a contraction scheme of the Commissioner of Baseball. That effort was unsuccessful, and the next year the team made it to the American League Championship Series (ALCS). Notable current and former Twins include Kirby Puckett, Bert Blyleven, Rod Carew, Tony Oliva, Harmon Killebrew, Paul Molitor, Johan Santana, Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, Torii Hunter, Joe Nathan, David Ortiz and Kent Hrbek. There is a Minor League Baseball team based in St Paul called the St Paul Saints.
The current St. Paul Saints are the Minnesota Twins AAA affiliate team. The team used to be part of the Northern League. The team was founded in 1993 as an inaugural team in the league. They won the Northern League Championship in 1993, 1995, 1996, and 2004. Notable current and former players include Kevin Millar, Darryl Strawberry, Jason Varitek, Jack Morris, and Ila Borders. The Saints play their home games at CHS Field in St. Paul and are the current Triple-A affiliate of Major League Baseball's Minnesota Twins. They moved to downtown St Paul in time for the 2015 season, to start play at the new CHS Field.
Basketball
The Minnesota Lynx are a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team founded in 1999 and play their home games at Target Center in Minneapolis. The Lynx have won four WNBA Championships, doing so during the 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017 season. In 2005, the Lynx drafted Seimone Augustus from Louisiana State University. She quickly became the foundation of the franchise and has been the focus of many WNBA advertisements. Maya Moore, drafted first overall in 2011, has contributed in great part to the Lynx's success, winning an MVP award in 2014.
The Minnesota Timberwolves are an NBA team founded in 1989 and play their home games at Target Center in Minneapolis. The "Wolves", as they are called by fans, have yet to appear in an NBA Finals series, but made it to the Western Conference Finals in 2004. In 2000, NBA officials ruled that the Wolves violated league rules when signing then-free agent Joe Smith. They then declared the contract was henceforth invalid, fined the organization $3.5 million and took the team's next three first-round draft picks. Notable current and former players include Kevin Garnett, Kevin Love, Sam Cassell, Karl-Anthony Towns, Ricky Rubio, Stephon Marbury, Latrell Sprewell, Terry Porter, Sam Mitchell, Wally Szczerbiak, Malik Sealy, Anthony Edwards and Andrew Wiggins.
The Minneapolis Lakers were an NBA team that was moved from Detroit to Minneapolis in 1947. Eventually in 1960, the Lakers moved to Los Angeles, where they became the Los Angeles Lakers. During their stay, the Minneapolis Lakers won the 1947–48 National Basketball League (NBL) championship, then joined four other NBL teams in joining the Basketball Association of America (BAA), where they won the 1948–49 BAA championship. After the 1948–49 season, the NBL and the BAA merged to become the NBA. The Lakers then won five championships in six years, in 1949, 1950, 1952, 1953 and 1954. They are considered to be the NBA's first "dynasty". Notable players include George Mikan, Jim Pollard, Vern Mikkelsen, Slater Martin, Clyde Lovellette and Elgin Baylor.
Football
The Minnesota Vikings are an NFL team founded as an expansion team in 1961. They play their home games at U.S. Bank Stadium. The Vikings have won one NFL Championship in 1969, one year before the AFL–NFL Merger. The Vikings were the first team to appear in four Super Bowls, but also lost all of them. Their last appearance in the Super Bowl was Super Bowl XI against the Oakland Raiders in 1977. Notable current and former players include Warren Moon, Randall Cunningham, Jim Marshall, Ron Yary, Mick Tingelhoff, Paul Krause, Cris Carter, Carl Eller, Fran Tarkenton, Chuck Foreman, Randy Moss, Daunte Culpepper, Darren Sharper, Jim Kleinsasser, Brad Johnson, Alan Page, the "Purple People Eaters", Adrian Peterson, Randall McDaniel, John Randle, Justin Jefferson, Fran Tarkenton among others.
Before the Vikings, Minnesota also hosted the Minneapolis Marines/Red Jackets and the Duluth Kelleys/Eskimos. Three players who played for Duluth are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The Duluth teams played at Athletic Park, while the Minneapolis teams played at Nicollet Park. In 2014, the Bemidji Axemen of Bemidji played two seasons as a team in the Indoor Football League.
The Minnesota Vixen are a Women's American Football team (WFA) founded in 1998. They are also the oldest professional women's football team in the U.S. The Minnesota Machine was a Women's American Football team (WFA) founded in 2008.
Ice Hockey
The Minnesota Wild are an NHL team founded in 2000 based at the Grand Casino Arena in Saint Paul. The Wild have not appeared in the Stanley Cup Final. The Wild made it to the Western Conference Finals in 2003, by beating the Colorado Avalanche and Vancouver Canucks both in seven games after being down three games to one in the series, before being swept by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. With their second draft pick in franchise history, the Wild drafted Mikko Koivu, who now holds the team's record total franchise points. Notable Wild players include Marián Gáborík, Wes Walz, Darby Hendrickson, Mikko Koivu, Zach Parise, Ryan Suter, Thomas Vanek, Eric Staal, Jordan Leopold, and Kirill Kaprizov.
The Minnesota North Stars were an NHL team that was part of the 1967 NHL expansion. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington. They appeared in the 1981 and 1991 Stanley Cup Finals, but did not win either one of them. In 1993, the North Stars moved to Dallas, where they became the Dallas Stars. Notable players include Harry Howell, John Mariucci, Gump Worsley, Neal Broten and Mike Modano.
The Minnesota Whitecaps were a professional women's team that played in the amateur Western Women's Hockey League (WWHL) from 2004 to 2011 and eventually joined the professional Premier Hockey Federation (PHF, formerly the National Women's Hockey League, or NWHL) for the 2018–19 season as an expansion team. The team has one Clarkson Cup title from 2010, and won the Isobel Cup in their first PHF season. They played at Richfield Ice Arena in Richfield.
In the summer of 2023, the PHF was shut down as part of the launch of a new, unified professional women's league, the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). The Minnesota Frost became one of the inaugural six franchises in the new league, and announced that they would play their home games at the Grand Casino Arena. The team held the first ever PWHL draft pick and used it to select Minnesota Golden Gophers forward Taylor Heise. On May 30, 2024, they became the league's first champions as they won the inaugural Walter Cup. On May 26, 2025, the Frost defended their title and repeated as Walter Cup champions.
The U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame is located in Eveleth, on the Iron Range.
Soccer
Minnesota United FC is a Major League Soccer team that was founded in 2010 as the NSC Minnesota Stars. In 2013, the club rebranded with a new crest and a new name, Minnesota United FC. In 2010 when the club was founded, it began to play in North American Soccer League in the second tier of US Soccer. In March 2015, MLS announced that Minnesota United had been awarded an expansion spot in MLS. The team continued to compete in the NASL until the 2017 season when Minnesota United began to compete in MLS. This marked the introduction of top division soccer to Minnesota since the Minnesota Kicks dissolved in 1981. Minnesota United currently plays its home games at Allianz Field in Saint Paul. Minnesota United is nicknamed "the Loons" after Minnesota's state bird, the common loon. The Wonderwall is Minnesota United’s supporters’ section, a standing room only area behind one of the goals. It is named after the Oasis song of the same name, which is sung after every home game win. Notable players for Minnesota United include Kevin Molino, Darwin Quintero, Osvaldo Alonso, Miguel Ibarra, Ethan Finlay, Emanuel Reynoso, Teemu Pukki, Robin Lod, Michael Boxall, Wil Trapp, Dayne St. Clair, Bongokuhle Hlongwane, Tani Oluwaseyi, Joesph Rosales, Kelvin Yeboah, and Joaquin Pereyra. Minnesota United has had three managers in its MLS run, them being Adrian Heath, Eric Ramsay, and Cameron Knowles.
The Thunder were a USL First Division team founded in 1992 as an amateur men's team, then joined the USL in 1994, and won the championship of what was then the A-League in 1999. Notable former players include Tony Sanneh and Manuel Lagos.
The Minnesota Lightning were a W-League team founded in 2006. They also played at the National Sports Center. The team folded after the 2009 season.
The newest addition to Minnesota sports, the Minnesota Aurora FC are a USL W League team founded in 2021 and began play in May 2022.
Table of professional teams
Current teams
ClubSportLeagueHome VenueCityYear EstablishedChampionshipsMinnesota FrostIce hockeyProfessional Women's Hockey LeagueGrand Casino Arena St. Paul20232024, 2025Minnesota Wind ChillUltimateUltimate Frisbee Association Sea Foam StadiumSt. Paul20132024Minnesota LynxBasketballWomen's National Basketball Association Target CenterMinneapolis19992011, 2013, 2015, 2017Minnesota United FCSoccerMajor League SoccerAllianz FieldSt. Paul2010NASL: 2011, 2014Minnesota TwinsBaseballMajor League Baseball Target FieldMinneapolis19611987, 1991Minnesota VikingsAmerican footballNational Football League U.S. Bank StadiumMinneapolis19611969St. Paul SaintsBaseballInternational League CHS FieldSt. Paul1993Northern League: 1993, 1995, 1996, 2004; American Association: 2019Fargo-Moorhead RedHawksBaseballAmerican Association Newman Outdoor FieldFargo1996Northern League: 1998, 2003, 2006, 2009Minnesota TimberwolvesBasketballNational Basketball Association Target CenterMinneapolis1989Minnesota VixenWomen's American footballWomen's Football Alliance Simley Athletic FieldInver Grove Heights1999Minnesota WildIce hockeyNational Hockey League Grand Casino ArenaSt. Paul2000Minnesota RØKKREsportsCall of Duty LeagueMinneapolis ArmoryMinneapolis2019Minnesota Aurora FCSoccerUSL W LeagueTCO StadiumEagan2021Duluth Harbor MonstersIndoor footballThe Arena LeagueDECC Arena Duluth2023TC GeminiRugbyWomen's Elite RugbyTCO Stadium Eagan2025
Former Minnesota teams