Milwaukee, Wisconsin is home to a variety of sports teams and events.

Professional

Milwaukee has a rich history of involvement in professional sports going back to the late 1960s. Currently, its major sports teams include:

Club Sport Founded Current league Stadium ChampionshipsMilwaukee BrewersBaseball1969National League (MLB)American Family Field0Milwaukee MilkmenBaseball 2019American Association of Professional BaseballFranklin Field0Milwaukee BucksBasketball1968National Basketball AssociationFiserv Forum2 (1971, 2021)Milwaukee AdmiralsIce Hockey1970American Hockey LeagueUW–Milwaukee Panther Arena2 (1975–76) (USHL), (2003-04) (AHL)Milwaukee WaveIndoor soccer1984Major Arena Soccer LeagueUW–Milwaukee Panther Arena7

Throughout the sports world, Milwaukee is perhaps best known for its tradition of tailgating before Brewers baseball games. The Brewers made their first post-season appearance in 1981 and won the American League pennant in 1982. In 1998, they became the first Major League team in modern history to switch leagues, doing so to accommodate the expansion franchises of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Tampa Bay Devil Rays. They also have the distinction of being the only team to have played in four of the six current Major League divisions.

The Bucks won the 1971 NBA Championship, a mere three years after joining the league. They made it back to the Finals in 1974, but soon developed a reputation as "next year's champions," winning at least one playoff series for the next 15 years, but having yet to return to the Finals. In 2021 the Bucks won the 2021 NBA Finals, their second championship in franchise history.

The Wave are the longest continuously running professional soccer operation in the United States. They have also been one of the most successful, having captured five league championships in the past nine years.

Non-professional In addition to professional sports, Milwaukee is home to a number of competitive teams, clubs and leagues at the amateur, college, high school and semi-pro levels.

Collegiate

School Nickname Division Conference(s) Varsity Sports TeamsMarquette UniversityGolden EaglesNCAA Division IBig East Conference11University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (Milwaukee)PanthersNCAA Division IHorizon League15Milwaukee School of Engineering (Milwaukee Engineering)Red RaidersNCAA Division IIINorthern Collegiate Hockey Association, Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference19 Mount Mary UniversityBlue AngelsNAIAChicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference6Alverno CollegeInfernoNCAA Division IIINorthern Athletics Collegiate Conference5Wisconsin Lutheran CollegeWarriorsNCAA Division IIINorthern Athletics Collegiate Conference14

Under the leadership of Al McGuire, Marquette's men's basketball team became a national powerhouse in the 1970s, capturing the NIT Championship in 1970, and the NCAA Championship in 1977. Not only was the '77 championship McGuire's last game, but Marquette remains the last independent school to win the title. It was also the last major sports championship won by a Milwaukee sports team until the 2021 title run by the Bucks

Led by former NBA star Dwyane Wade, Marquette returned to the Final Four in 2003, but was ousted by Kansas in the semi-finals.

UW–Milwaukee made its first post-season appearance in men's basketball that same year, under the tutelage of current Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl. Although they lost at the buzzer to Notre Dame in the first round, they would make their first NIT appearance the following year. In 2005, UWM had its most successful year ever, winning both the Horizon League regular season and tournament championships. They would go on to upset Alabama in the first round of the NCAA tournament before shocking then Big East powerhouse Boston College on its way to the Sweet 16. So much of an impression had the team made that sportswriters shied away from calling their defeat of sixth-seeded Oklahoma in the 2006 Tournament an "upset," believing UWM may have actually been the better team.

Starting with the 2007–08 season, the Marquette and UWM men's basketball teams will rekindle their annual rivalry game which has been dormant since 1998. The two schools have always shared annual and heated rivalries in all other common NCAA sports.

UWM's men's and women's soccer teams regularly attain national rankings, and the school is also home to the only Division I baseball team in Wisconsin.

High school High School athletics in Milwaukee is dominated by the Milwaukee City Conference. However, it is also home to a number of athletically competitive private (mainly Catholic) high schools such as Marquette University High School, which has the city's only WIAA sanctioned ice hockey team.

While the City Conference schools are quite competitive in basketball, track & field and other sports with low costs of maintenance, it has been noted that the schools' collective lack of funds and facilities puts it at a distinct disadvantage in sports such as football. Problems such as only four of the schools having on-campus stadiums are believed to be a major reason why City Conference schools have been absent from the WIAA State Championship Game since 1986 (a 28-20 Bradley Tech loss to Manitowoc). As a result, many of the city's more talented prep football players either attend private schools on scholarships and vouchers, or suburban schools through school choice programs such as Chapter 220.

The City Conference is considered to be the toughest league in Wisconsin for boys' basketball. Its teams have appeared in 21 of the past 24 WIAA Division 1 Championship Games, winning the title in 14 of them.

City Conference Alumni include Michael Bennett (Football, Track & Field/Bradley Tech), "Downtown" Freddie Brown (Basketball/Lincoln), Terry Porter (Basketball/South Division) and Latrell Sprewell (Basketball/Washington).

Amateur/Semi-professional

Club Sport Founded Current league StadiumCroatian Eagles Soccer ClubSoccer1922Premier League of AmericaCroatian ParkBavarian United SCSoccer1929USL League TwoHeartland Value Fund StadiumMilwaukee BombersAustralian Rules Football1994Mid American Australian Football LeagueBrown Deer ParkMilwaukee Rugby - The BarbariansRugby Union2012Midwest RFUZablocki ParkMilwaukee TorrentSoccer2015National Premier Soccer LeagueHart Park

The Milwaukee Bavarians/Bavarian Soccer Club is one of the oldest and most successful amateur soccer clubs in the United States, having captured the National Amateur Cup on two occasions. They play at the fourth level of the American Soccer Pyramid.

The Croatian Eagles Soccer Club are the oldest soccer club in North America, founded in 1922.

Other

Auto Racing The Milwaukee suburb of West Allis is home to the Milwaukee Mile auto racing facility, the world's oldest active auto race track, located on the Wisconsin State Fair Grounds. The track has held events sanctioned by major sanctioning bodies, such as the American Automobile Association, USAC, NASCAR, Champ Car World Series (or CART), and the IndyCar Series. An ARCA event was hosted in 2021 and has been a recurring event since 2023. In 2023, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series returned to the track with the 2023 Clean Harbors 175. IndyCar hosted a double header weekend event in 2024

Speed-Skating Milwaukee is also home to the Pettit National Ice Center, a U.S. Olympic Team training facility, which has been the training site for gold medal-winning speedskaters such as Dan Jansen, Bonnie Blair and Shani Davis.

Pro Wrestling Milwaukee was a stronghold of the American Wrestling Association (AWA) during pro wrestling's territorial days. Shows run from The MECCA (Auditorium and Arena) drew large crowds of people who came to see the tag team of former Green Bay Packers lineman Dick "The Bruiser" Afflis and South Milwaukee native Reggie "The Crusher" Lisowski.

Vince McMahon's WWF (later known as World Wrestling Entertainment; now known as WWE) began running shows from The MECCA in the late 1980s leading to Milwaukee being home to some important moments in that promotion's history. Most famously, it is the birthplace of Stone Cold Steve Austin's "Austin 3:16" catchphrase. WWE continues to run shows (including pay-per-views) in Milwaukee at the BMO Harris Bradley Center and will likely run future shows at the new Fiserv Forum once it opens.

Insane Championship Wrestling, a member of the National Wrestling Alliance, also runs shows at smaller venues in the city, usually once a month.

Roller Derby A recent addition to Milwaukee's sports scene is Women's Roller Derby. Since 2005 Milwaukee has been home to the Brew City Bruisers,BCB website a Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) Roller Derby league. The league has four skater-owned and operated teams: Crazy Eights, Maiden Milwaukee, Rushin' Rollettes, and Shevil Knevils. The teams compete in events locally at the US Cellular Arena, and the BCB's Travel Team competes in national league events throughout the United States.

Running Milwaukee is home to a variety of competitive road running events. The largest is Al's Run, an annual fund-raiser for the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin run in honor of Al McGuire. The race draws large numbers of the participants, regularly exceeding 15,000.

The city is also the finishing point for the Lakefront Marathon, which begins in Grafton, Wisconsin and is run along Lake Michigan until the finish at Milwaukee's Veterans Park. The Guinness World Record for “most people linked together to complete a marathon” with 62 roped-together runners, was set at Milwaukee's 2011 Lakefront Marathon. Team Jennipede competed on behalf of elite marathoner Jenny Crain, raising over $116,000 for Crain's rehabilitation from injuries suffered when a car hit her during a training run in Milwaukee street on Aug. 27, 2007.

In addition, many paths have been paved in recent years for runners and joggers in the city's parks along Lake Michigan as well as the Hank Aaron State Trail, adjacent to American Family Field in the Menomonee Valley.

Past teams

Previously, numerous other teams have played in Milwaukee, including:

Club Sport Played from League StadiumCream CitysBaseball1878National LeagueMilwaukee UnionsBaseball1884Union AssociationMilwaukee BrewersBaseball1888–1901Western League/American LeagueLloyd Street GroundsMilwaukee Brewers (1891)Baseball1891American Association (19th century)Milwaukee BrewersBaseball1902–1952American AssociationBorchert FieldMilwaukee BadgersFootball1922–1926NFLMilwaukee BearsBaseball1923Negro National LeagueBorchert FieldMilwaukee ChiefsFootball1940–1941American Football LeagueDairy BowlMilwaukee ChicksWomen's baseball1944All-American Girls Professional Baseball LeagueBorchert FieldMilwaukee ClarksIce Hockey 1948–1950IHL 1948-1949 EIHL1949–1950UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena formally MCCA Arena Milwaukee HawksBasketball1951–1955NBAMilwaukee Arena (now UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena)Milwaukee ChiefsIce hockey1952–1954International Hockey LeagueMilwaukee BravesBaseball1953–1965MLBMilwaukee County StadiumMilwaukee DoesWomen's basketball1978–1980WBLMECCA Arena (now UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena)Milwaukee Mustangs (1994-2001)Arena football1994–2001Arena Football LeagueBradley Center (now BMO Harris Bradley Center)Milwaukee RampageSoccer1994–2002USL First DivisionMilwaukee Wave UnitedSoccer2003–2004USL First DivisionMilwaukee BonecrushersArena football2008–2009Continental Indoor Football LeagueU.S. Cellular Arena (now UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena)Milwaukee Iron Arena football2009–2012Arena Football League Bradley CenterMilwaukee Copper HearthSoftball1977APSPLWilson Stadium, MilwaukeeMilwaukee Schlitz Softball1978-1982APSPL, NASL, UPSPL Wilson Stadium, Milwaukee