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. For instance, as of July 2025, Massachusetts teams have won 6 Stanley Cups (Boston Bruins), 18 NBA Championships (Boston Celtics), 6 Super Bowls (New England Patriots), and 10 World Series (9 Boston Red Sox, 1 Boston Braves). Additionally, the New England Revolution won the U.S. Open Cup in 2007 and the MLS Supporter's Shield in 2021. Massachusetts is also notable for being the birthplace of both basketball and volleyball, and it is home to the Basketball Hall of Fame (Springfield) and the Volleyball Hall of Fame (Holyoke). Moreover, the state hosts the Cape Cod Baseball League and prestigious sports events such as the Boston Marathon and the Head of the Charles Regatta (Boston). Other popular sports events in Massachusetts include the Falmouth Road Race in running, which started in 1973, and the Fitchburg Longsjo Classic, an annual bicycle race held from 1960 to 2020.
The Greater Boston region is the only city/surrounding area in American professional sports in which all facilities are privately owned and operated. The Kraft Sports Group, which holds ownership of both the Patriots and New England Revolution (a Major League Soccer team), owns Gillette Stadium located in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Fenway Sports Group, led by principal owner John W. Henry, owns both Fenway Park and the Boston Red Sox. TD Garden is owned by Delaware North, and its chairman, Jeremy M. Jacobs, along with his family, owns the Bruins. The Celtics rent TD Garden from Delaware North.
The PGA Tour Deutsche Bank Championship was a regular professional golf tournament held from 2003 to 2018 in Norton, Massachusetts. As of July 2025, Massachusetts has played host to ten U.S. Opens, four U.S. Women's Opens, two Ryder Cups, and two U.S. Senior Open.
Massachusetts is home to many colleges and universities that are active in college athletics, hosting several NCAA Division I (D-I) institutions that compete in multiple sports. The D-I schools include Boston College, Boston University, Northeastern University, Harvard University, College of the Holy Cross, the University of Massachusetts Amherst, the University of Massachusetts Lowell, Merrimack College, and Stonehill College.
Notable athletes from Massachusetts Massachusetts has produced several successful Olympians including Thomas Burke, James Connolly, and John Thomas (track & field); Butch Johnson (archery); Nancy Kerrigan (figure skating); Todd Richards (snowboarding); Albina Osipowich (swimming); Aly Raisman (gymnastics); Patrick Ewing (basketball); as well as Jim Craig, Mike Eruzione, Bill Cleary, and Keith Tkachuk (ice hockey).
Notable soccer (or association football) players from Massachusetts include Bert Patenaude, Billy Gonsalves, Geoff Cameron, Miles Robinson, Sam Mewis, and Kristie Mewis. Patenaude and Gonsalves, both inductees of the National Soccer Hall of Fame and natives of Fall River, Massachusetts, played for the U.S. men's national team at the inaugural FIFA World Cup in 1930 (hosted in Uruguay). Patenaude scored the first hat-trick in World Cup history. The USMNT finished in third place.
=== Sports Illustrated'''s 50 Greatest Sports Figures from Massachusetts === In 1999, Sports Illustrated'' published the fifty (50) greatest 19th and 20th century sports figures from each U.S. state. The criteria used was "not necessarily to where [the athletes] were born, but to where they first showed flashes of the greatness to come." The ten highest ranked Massachusetts athletes were as follows: RankNameSportHometownNotes 1. Rocky Marciano Boxing Brockton, MA Held the world heavyweight title from 1952 to 1956 2. Doug Flutie American football Natick, MA Played at Boston College; won the Heisman Trophy in 1984 3. Patrick Ewing Basketball Cambridge, MA Played at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School; 2× Olympic gold medalist (1984, 1992); selected as one of the 75 Greatest Players in NBA History in 2021; Basketball Hall of Fame inductee 4. Bobby Carpenter Ice hockey Beverly, MA First U.S. player to jump from high school to NHL (in 1981) 5. Rebecca Lobo Basketball Southwick, MA Massachusetts' all-time leading high school basketball scorer (boys and girls); Basketball Hall of Fame inductee 6. Alberto Salazar Track & field Wayland, MA 3× New York Marathon winner (1980–82); Boston Marathon winner (1982) 7. Tom Glavine Baseball Billerica, MA 2× NL Cy Young Award (1991, 1998); 1995 World Series MVP; Baseball Hall of Fame inductee 8. Pie Traynor Baseball Somerville, MA Posted a career batting average of .320; Baseball Hall of Fame inductee 9. Harry Agganis BaseballAmerican football Lynn, MA Played at Boston University; Boston Red Sox (1954–55); College Football Hall of Fame inductee 10. Johnny Kelley Track & field Arlington, MA Olympian; competed in the Boston Marathon over 50 times (winning twice)
Major League Professional Teams
Current teams Club League Sport Venue (capacity) Founded Championships Boston Red Sox MLB Baseball Fenway Park (37,500) 1901 9 World Series Boston Bruins NHL Ice Hockey TD Garden (17,565) 1924 6 Stanley Cups Boston Celtics NBA Basketball TD Garden (18,625) 1946 18 NBA titles New England Patriots NFL Football Gillette Stadium (68,750) 1960 6 Super Bowls New England Revolution MLS Soccer 1995 0 MLS Cups; 1 Supporters' Shield
Former teams Club League Sport Venue (capacity) Founded Dissolved Championships Boston Braves MLB Baseball Braves Field (40,000) 1871 1952 1 World Series Worcester Brown Stockings Worcester Agricultural Fairgrounds 1880 1882 Boston Reds Congress Street Grounds18901891 Boston Bulldogs NFL Football Braves Field (40,000) 1929 1929 Boston Redskins Fenway Park (35,000) 1932 1936 Boston Yanks 1944 1948Boston Breakers USFLNickerson Field (15,000) 1983 1984 Boston Rovers NASL Soccer Manning Bowl (21,000) 1967 1967 Boston Beacons Fenway Park (33,375) 1968 1968 Boston Minutemen Alumni Stadium (30,000)Nickerson Field (15,000) 1974 1976 New England Tea Men Foxboro Stadium (60,000) 1978 1980 New England Whalers WHA Ice Hockey Boston Garden (14,448) 1972 1974 1 Avco World Trophy
Major league professional championships
Boston Red Sox (MLB) 9 World Series titles 1903 1912 1915 1916 1918 2004 2007 2013 2018
Boston Braves (MLB)
1 World Series title
1914
New England Patriots (NFL) 6 Super Bowl titles 2001 (XXXVI) 2003 (XXXVIII) 2004 (XXXIX) 2014 (XLIX) 2016 (LI) 2018 (LIII)
Boston Celtics (NBA) 18 NBA Finals titles 1957 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1968 1969 1974 1976 1981 1984 1986 2008 2024
Boston Bruins (NHL) 6 Stanley Cup titles 1929 1939 1941 1970 1972 2011
New England Whalers (WHA) 1 Avco World Trophy 1973
Minor League or Semi-Professional Clubs
Other professional teams Club League Sport Venue (capacity) Founded ChampionshipsBoston FleetPWHLIce HockeyTsongas Center (6,500)2023Boston CannonsPLLLacrosse"Barnstorming"20012 Steinfeld Trophies (MLL) 2 PLL Championship Series TrophiesBoston GuardWLL20251 WLL Championship TrophyBoston Legacy FCNWSLSoccerWhite Stadium (10,519)2026Boston GloryUFAUltimateHormel Stadium20191 UFA Championship TrophyBoston HuntersWPBLBaseballRobin Roberts Stadium2026Massachusetts PiratesIFLIndoor FootballTsongas Center (6,500)20171 IFL National ChampionshipNew England Free JacksMLRRugby UnionVeterans Memorial Stadium (5,000)20183 MLR Shields
Minor league teams +ClubPro AffiliateLeagueConference / DivisionSportVenue (Capacity)FoundedChampionshipsWorcester Red SoxBoston Red SoxInternationalEastBaseballPolar Park (9,508)20214 Governors' Cup (As PawSox)Brockton RoxIndependentFrontierAtlanticCampanelli Stadium (4,750)20240 Frontier League ChampionshipsSpringfield ThunderbirdsSt. Louis Blues (NHL) / Florida Everblades (ECHL)AHLEastern / AtlanticIce HockeyMassMutual Center (6,800)19750 Calder CupWorcester RailersNew York Islanders (NHL) / Bridgeport Islanders (AHL)ECHLEastern / NorthDCU Center (12,135)20170 Kelly CupNew England Revolution IINew England RevolutionMLS Next ProEasternSoccerGillette Stadium (68,750)20190 MLS Next Pro Championships
College sports
NCAA: Divisions I and II
SchoolNicknameDivisionConferenceBoston CollegeEaglesIAtlantic Coast Conference/Hockey EastBoston UniversityTerriersIPatriot League/Hockey EastNortheastern UniversityHuskiesICoastal Athletic Association/Hockey EastHarvard UniversityCrimsonIIvy League/ECAC HockeyCollege of the Holy CrossCrusadersIPatriot League/Atlantic Hockey America/Hockey EastUniversity of Massachusetts AmherstMinutemen/ MinutewomenIMid-American Conference/Hockey EastUniversity of Massachusetts LowellRiver HawksIAmerica East Conference/Hockey EastMerrimack CollegeWarriorsIMetro Atlantic Athletic Conference/FCS independent (football)/Hockey EastStonehill CollegeSkyhawksINortheast Conference/Independent (men's ice hockey)/New England Women's Hockey AllianceAmerican International CollegeYellow JacketsI/IIAtlantic Hockey America/Northeast-10 ConferenceBentley UniversityFalconsI/IIAtlantic Hockey America/Northeast-10 ConferenceAssumption UniversityGreyhounds I/II Northeast-10 Conference/New England Women's Hockey Alliance
In addition to the schools listed here, Franklin Pierce University, a full Division II member 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 as a D-I program in the New England Women's Hockey Alliance.
NCAA: Division III