So, you like sports, eh? Lately, Indianapolis has become a great city to see professional and college sports. This is one of the best cities in the world to see amateur sports. Here we give you a little taste of the Indianapolis sports scene. If you would like more information on any of these teams or events, check out the links to Indiana sports provided with this section.

Professional Basketball: The Pacers

In the world of professional hoops, the Indiana Pacers are looking forward to a great season with their head coach, Isiah Thomas. The last decade has been very successful for the Pacers, reaching it's greatest height with winning the Eastern Conference Championship and facing the Lakers in the 2000 NBA Finals.

Auto Racing

Oh, are there any auto racing fans out there? You might be interested to know that every May we have this little event known as the "greatest spectacle in racing," the Indianapolis 500. People come from all over the world to see some of the best drivers traverse the 2 1/2 mile-oval at speeds over 230 miles per hour. The month of May is truly an exciting time for the city.

For fans of the very popular NASCAR racing, Indianapolis also hosts the Brickyard 400 event in early August. There you can see great drivers, like three-time winner and Indiana native Jeff Gordon, compete for one of the highest purses in the Winston Cup season. And for International flavor, we host the only Formula1 event in America.

If you're into NHRA drag racing, you probably know that the NHRA finals at Indianapolis Raceway Park is one of the most exciting NHRA events of the year.

Professional Football: The Colts

Maybe football is more your style? Well, the Colts have one of the best young offenses in the league with the trio of Peyton Manning, Edgerrin James, and Marvin Harrison.  The Colts are continuing to gain respect around the league.

AAA Baseball: The Indians

The Indianapolis Indians AAA baseball team is affiliated with the Major League Milwaukee Brewers, and has won more championships over the last decade than any other AAA club. They continue to enjoy their new downtown state-of-the art stadium, Victory Field.

CHL  Hockey: The Ice

The Indianapolis Ice also provide entertainment for the city's hockey fans. The game atmosphere is always hopping with music, wacky promotions, and aggressive checking into the boards.

Division II Soccer: The Blast

If you're one of those people who believe that real "football" players don't wear helmets, you might want to check out the Indiana Blast, Indianapolis' professional soccer team.  In addition to the Blast, Indianapolis is also home to the Indiana Blaze, a women's soccer team, which includes players from the gold medal winning Team USA!

More Pro Sports

As if all of these professional sports offerings aren't enough, Indianapolis has also hosted many professional tennis and golf tournaments in the past and is planning to do so in the future.

Amateur Sports

Indianapolis is also strong at the amateur sports level. It has held the NCAA Final Four basketball tournament several times, most recently in 2000 at the RCA Dome, which holds over 65,000 people. Indianapolis also hosted the 1987 Pan Am Games and boasts the Hoosier State Games, one of the largest intrastate sports festivals in the United States. Several other national championships have been held here in sports such as gymnastics and track and field. The city played host to qualifications for the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in nine different events. Indianapolis has been dubbed the "Amateur Sports Capital" of the world.

College Sports

We haven't even mentioned college sports yet! There are plenty of top-notch sports programs in Indiana from which to choose. Two of the biggest college sports in the state are basketball and football. Indiana features dominating teams in both sports. Because of these great traditions, and other considerations, Indianapolis was also the winner when the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) chose a new location for their administrative headquarters.

NCAA Basketball

Is your favorite NCAA sport basketball? You have two great basketball programs you can root for - but beware - you must cheer for one and despise the other. It's the law here in Indiana where basketball is king!

First up is the Indiana University Hoosiers coached by Mike Davis.  IU basketball has won a total of five national championships during its glorious history, more than any other school but UCLA and Kentucky. The 1976 squad remains the only basketball team in NCAA history to go undefeated.

What if IU's cream and crimson are not your favorite colors? Root for Gene Keady's Purdue University Boilermaker basketball team. During the '93-'96 seasons, Keady's squads won the Big Ten Championships back to back to back, becoming the first Big Ten school to do so in several decades. The '93-'94 team included national player of the year Glenn Robinson.

NCAA Football

What if college football is your sport? You need only look north to South Bend, Indiana, home of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The expectations are always so high that anything less than a national championship is considered by some to be a wasted season. The program is often ranked among the top ten in the nation and traditionally has one of the toughest schedules. The school has won several national championships.

For more information, check out our links to Indiana sports.