Sports in Indianapolis include major league franchises, collegiate athletics, and a variety of other club and individual sporting events that have taken place in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Indianapolis is the home to 11 professional sports teams. The city is also home to three National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) collegiate teams. Two teams from the major professional sports leagues, the Indianapolis Colts and Indiana Pacers, are located in Indianapolis. The Indiana Fever Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) started play in 2000, and are under the same ownership as the Pacers.
A number of minor league-level teams also play in the city. The Indianapolis Indians are the second-oldest Minor League Baseball team, having played in the city since 1902, and are currently members of the Triple-A International League. The Indianapolis AlleyCats were formed in 2012 as one of the founding teams of the American Ultimate Disc League (AUDL). The Indy Eleven soccer team began play in 2014 and are members of the United Soccer League (USL). The Pacers moved their NBA G League affiliate from Fort Wayne to Indianapolis in 2023 as the Indiana Mad Ants, and moved the team after the 2024–25 season to the northeast suburb of Noblesville as the Noblesville Boom.
Notably, Indianapolis is the headquarters of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the main governing body for U.S. collegiate sports, the National Federation of State High School Associations, and the Indianapolis 500, one of three legs of the Triple Crown of Motorsport.
Major league teams Club League Sport Venue Founded Establishedin Indianapolis Championshipsin Indianapolis Indianapolis Colts NFL Football Lucas Oil Stadium 1953 1984 1 Super Bowl Indiana Pacers NBA Basketball Gainbridge Fieldhouse 1967 1967 3 ABA Championships; 0 NBA Championships Indiana FeverWNBAGainbridge Fieldhouse200020001 WNBA Championship
Indianapolis Colts (NFL)
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The team is part of the South Division of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The Colts have won five NFL Championships, including two Super Bowl titles. The Colts relocated from Baltimore in 1984, and began their stay in Indianapolis winning 90 of 228 games through the 1997 season, including 5 playoff games. Since Jim Irsay assumed control of the franchise in 1998 after the death of his father Robert Irsay, the team has become the first in league history to win 12 games or more in five consecutive seasons (2003–2007). After their first playoff berth in Indianapolis in 1987, they missed the playoffs 7 consecutive years. In 1995 the Colts made it to their 1st AFC Championship Game since relocating but lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers on a last-second play. In 1998 GM Bill Polian drafted Peyton Manning out of Tennessee helping to turn the franchise around. Since drafting Manning the Colts have made the playoffs in 10 of 12 years and won Super Bowl XLI against the Chicago Bears in 2006, 29–17. Lucas Oil Stadium opened before the 2008 season, replacing the RCA Dome, as the new home of the Colts.
Indiana Pacers (NBA)
The Indiana Pacers are a professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The team is part of the Central Division in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Pacers began play in the ABA in 1967 and won 3 ABA Championships. In 1976, the Pacers received an invitation to join the National Basketball Association. In the 1987 NBA draft, the Pacers selected Reggie Miller out of UCLA. Miller helped the team to make the playoffs 14 out of 17 seasons. To start the 1998–99 NBA season they opened their new arena, Conseco Fieldhouse, now Gainbridge Fieldhouse, after playing at Market Square Arena for 25 years. The Pacers reached their first NBA Finals in that same season but lost to the Lakers in 6 games. During the 2004–2005 season, the Pacers–Pistons brawl took place in Detroit and the team has struggled with their off the court image with numerous incidents. Reggie Miller retired the same season. Since then, the Pacers missed the playoffs in 2007, the first time since 1997 and for only the second time in 22 years.
Indiana Fever (WNBA) The Indiana Fever are a professional women's basketball team based in Indianapolis. The team is part of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The Fever were one of the 2000 expansion teams. The WNBA awarded Indianapolis a team with the opening of Conseco Fieldhouse, now Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The Fever won their 1st game in Miami, against the Miami Sol, on national TV but finished the 2000 season in last place at 9–23 and received the 3rd overall pick in the 2001 WNBA draft. In the draft the Fever selected Tennessee superstar Tamika Catchings, although she was forced to sit out the 2001 season with a knee injury. Catchings won the 2002 WNBA Rookie of the Year and has led the Fever in points, rebounds, assists, and steals each season since. They first made the playoffs in 2002 but lost to the New York Liberty in 3 games. Since 2005 the Fever have posted four 21+ win seasons and made it to the Eastern Conference Finals three times. They reached the WNBA Finals for the first time in 2009, losing to the Phoenix Mercury three games to two. The Fever reached the WNBA Finals for the second time in 2012, and the team defeated the Minnesota Lynx three games to one to win their first WNBA Title. After the team selected college basketball icon Caitlin Clark as the first overall draft pick in 2024, the Fever set WNBA single-season records for per-game and total attendance that season.
Minor league teams Club League Sport Venue Founded Establishedin Indianapolis Championshipsin Indianapolis Indianapolis Indians International (Triple-A) Baseball Victory Field 1902 1902 2 International League; 12 American Association Indy Eleven USLC Soccer IU Michael A. Carroll Stadium 2013 2013 1 NASL Spring Season Indy Eleven Women USLW Women's Soccer Grand Park 2022 2022 1 USL W League Indy Fuel ECHL Hockey Fishers Event Center 2014 2014 0 Noblesville Boom NBAG Basketball Riverview Health Arena at Innovation Mile 2007 2023 0 Fishers Freight IFL Indoor Football Fishers Event Center 2023 2025 0 Indy Ignite MLV Volleyball Fishers Event Center 2023 2025 0
Indianapolis Indians
The Indianapolis Indians are a minor league baseball team based in Indianapolis. The team, which plays in the International League, is the AAA affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Indians play at Victory Field, located in downtown Indianapolis.
Founded in 1902, the Indianapolis Indians are the second-oldest minor league franchise in professional sports, behind only the Rochester Red Wings.
In 1985, a group of local investors formed Indianapolis Baseball, Inc. to pursue a Major League Baseball team. The announcement was met with great fanfare; 12,000 season tickets were sold in anticipation of the new team, to be named the Indianapolis Arrows. The initiative was ultimately unsuccessful and season ticket holders were refunded by the end of the year.
Indy Eleven Indy Eleven is a second-division professional soccer club formed in 2013 and plays at the IU Michael A. Carroll Track & Soccer Stadium in Indianapolis. The team competed in the North American Soccer League from 2014 to 2017. They won their first honor during the 2016 season, capturing the Spring Season Championship with an undefeated record. They almost were the NASL Champions, barely losing to the New York Cosmos 4–2 in a penalty shoot-out (0–0 after 90 minutes) during Soccer Bowl 2016. The Eleven made a bid in 2017 to join top-tier Major League Soccer as a 2020 expansion team but were passed over at that time. In 2018, the club joined the USL Championship, the second highest division. They have been expected to eventually relocate to Eleven Park, a proposed soccer-specific stadium, in downtown Indianapolis upon completion of the project. However, in 2024, Indianapolis mayor Joe Hogsett met with MLS commissioner Don Garber to discuss MLS expansion and proposed to build a stadium in the location of the old Indianapolis Heliport. Because of this, Eleven Park construction has been put on hold.
Indy Eleven Women Indy Eleven is a second-tier soccer team formed in 2022 and plays at Grand Park in the Indianapolis suburb of Westfield. They won their first honor during the 2023 season, capturing the USL W-League Championship. They are expected to relocate to Eleven Park in downtown Indianapolis upon completion of construction in 2025. In conjunction with their relocation, they are expected to join the announced USL Super League, which is currently pursuing classification as a top-tier league. This would elevate the team to a major league team, if announced plans are followed.
Indy Fuel The Indy Fuel is a minor league ice hockey team in the ECHL, the third tier of professional hockey in North America. The franchise was founded in 2013 and has been affiliated with the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks since the Fuel's foundation. The team has played at Indiana Farmers Coliseum since their founding. They are expected to relocate to the Indianapolis suburb of Fishers in 2024, upon completion of construction of the Fishers Event Center.
Noblesville Boom The Noblesville Boom is a minor league basketball team in the NBA G League. The team was established in 2007 in the then NBA Development League (D-League), playing in the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana as the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. They won a championship in the 2014 season. In 2015, the Indiana Pacers bought the team, and in 2023 they announced the team would relocate to Indianapolis as the Indiana Mad Ants. The Mad Ants initially planned to move from Gainbridge Fieldhouse to the suburb of Noblesville in 2024–25, coupled with a rebranding. The new venue, eventually known as Riverview Health Arena at Innovation Mile, was delayed to 2025–26, with the rebranding as the Noblesville Boom taking place after the 2024–25 season.
Fishers Freight It was announced in November 2023 that the Indoor Football League would expand with a team in Indianapolis. The team is expected to begin play in 2025, in conjunction with the completion of construction of the Fishers Event Center.
Indy Ignite It was announced in December 2023 that the Pro Volleyball Federation would expand with a team in Indianapolis. The team is expected to begin play in 2025, in conjunction with the completion of construction of the Fishers Event Center.
Top tier amateur teams Club League Sport Venue Founded Establishedin Indianapolis Championshipsin Indianapolis FC Indiana Lionesses WPSL Elite Soccer IU Michael A. Carroll Stadium 2000 2000 2 WPSL Championships; 2 USASA National Women's Open Cups Indianapolis AlleyCatsAUDLUltimateGrand Park201220120
Collegiate sports Indianapolis has three universities that field teams in the NCAA, Butler University (Butler Bulldogs) and Indiana University Indianapolis (IU Indy Jaguars) in Division I and the University of Indianapolis (Indianapolis Greyhounds) in Division II. Butler is a member of the Big East Conference, IU Indy is a member of the Horizon League, and Indianapolis (or UIndy) is a member of the Great Lakes Valley Conference. The Marian University Knights compete in the NAIA.
Motorsports
Indianapolis Motor Speedway hosts the Indianapolis 500, one of the most famous and prestigious auto races in the world. It is the world's most attended single-day sporting event. Also during May before the Indianapolis 500 the Speedway also uses the road course to run the IndyCar Grand Prix. Both races are a part of the IndyCar Series. The Speedway also hosts NASCAR's Brickyard 400. It has also previously hosted rounds on the Formula 1 and Moto GP calendars with, United States Grand Prix from 2000 to 2007, and Red Bull Indianapolis GP from 2008 to 2015 respectively.