Sports in Indianapolis
The Indiana Fever Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) started play in 2000, and are under the same ownership as the Pacers NBA team.
The Indianapolis AlleyCats were formed in 2012 as one of the founding teams of the American Ultimate Disc League (AUDL).
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.
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.
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.
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.
Founded in 1902, the Indianapolis Indians are the second-oldest minor league franchise in professional sports, behind only the Rochester Red Wings.
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.
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.
They made a bid in 2017 to join top-tier Major League Soccer as a 2020 expansion team but were passed over at that time.
Indy Eleven is a second-tier soccer team formed in 2022 and plays at Grand Park in the Indianapolis suburb of Westfield.
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.
They will play the 2023–24 season at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, after which they will move to the newly constructed Noblesville Event Center.
The team is expected to begin play in 2025, in conjunction with the completion of construction of the Fishers Event Center.
The team is expected to begin play in 2025, in conjunction with the completion of construction of the Fishers Event Center.
Indianapolis has gained a reputation within the last thirty years for being a strong city for hosting major sporting events.
Eighteen individual swimming world records have been broken at the Natatorium, with swimmers such as Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte having made multiple appearances at the facility.
[3] Most recently, the Natatorium hosted the 2017 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships where several American and US Open records were broken.
However, due to the high level of play in the conference, a College Football Playoff berth is often on the line.
From 1988 to 2009, Indianapolis hosted a lower level tennis tournament, being classified as an ATP World Tour 250 series event.
Despite it being a lesser points event, it commonly attracted major players, such as Grand Slam champions Boris Becker, Patrick Rafter, John McEnroe, Andy Roddick, and Pete Sampras.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell suggested that Indianapolis may be a contender for future Super Bowls.
This is the largest single opportunity for the teams to evaluate potential draftees before the NFL Draft in April.
In the same style as the NBA, the WNBA Finals are only hosted by Indianapolis when the local team, the Fever, make it to the championship round.
Indianapolis hosted sixteen international basketball teams at the 2002 FIBA World Championship, which went from August 29 to September 8, 2002.
Crooked Stick Golf Club, located in the Indianapolis suburb of Carmel, Indiana, has hosted several events, most notably the 1991 PGA Championship.
Multiple local amateur teams play with tennis balls in central Indiana, including ones in Bloomington, Carmel, Columbus, Fishers, Fort Wayne, Kokomo, West Lafayette, and also downtown at the IUPUI campus.
