Sports in Missouri

Missouri hosts a number of sports teams. Missouri is home to six major league professional sports teams — three in the St. Louis metropolitan area, and three in the Kansas City metropolitan area.

Missouri hosted the 1904 Summer Olympics at Washington University in St. Louis, the first time the games were hosted in the United States.

The St. Louis Cardinals playing at Busch Stadium.

Major league sports teams

See also: Major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada

Club	Sport	League
Kansas City Chiefs	American football	National Football League
Kansas City Royals	Baseball	Major League Baseball
Sporting Kansas City*	Soccer	Major League Soccer
St. Louis Blues	Ice hockey	National Hockey League
St. Louis Cardinals	Baseball	Major League Baseball
St. Louis City SC	Soccer	Major League Soccer

* — Team represents a location in the state but plays its home games outside the state boundaries.

Teams in other top-level leagues

Club	Sport	League
Kansas City Current	Soccer	National Women's Soccer League

Minor leagues

Club	Sport	League
Club Atletico Saint Louis	Soccer	National Premier Soccer League
Demize NPSL	Soccer	National Premier Soccer League
Kansas City Blues	Rugby	USA Rugby Division 1
Kansas City Comets	Indoor Soccer	Major Arena Soccer League
Kansas City Mavericks	Ice hockey	ECHL
Kansas City Monarchs	Baseball	American Association
Kansas City Power	Australian rules football	USAFL
Kansas City Rogues	Rugby	USA Rugby Division 3
Kansas City Storm	American football - Women	United Women's Football Association
Springfield Cardinals	Baseball	Texas League
Springfield Lasers	Tennis	World TeamTennis
St. Louis Ambush	Indoor soccer	Major Arena Soccer League
St. Louis BattleHawks	American football	UFL
St. Louis City 2	Soccer	MLS Next Pro
St. Louis Lions	Soccer	USL League 2
Sporting Kansas City II	Soccer	MLS Next Pro

Former teams

Teams which are no longer in Missouri

Club	Sport	League
Kansas City Athletics (moved from Philadelphia in 1955; moved to Oakland, California after the 1967 season and are now the Oakland Athletics)	Baseball	Major League Baseball
Kansas City Kings (moved from Cincinnati in 1972; moved to Sacramento in 1985 and are now the Sacramento Kings; prior to locating in Kansas City, they were known as the Cincinnati Royals)	Basketball	National Basketball Association
Kansas City Scouts (1974 expansion team, moved to Denver, Colorado in 1976 and became the Colorado Rockies, and would move again to Newark, New Jersey; now called the New Jersey Devils)	Ice hockey	National Hockey League
Sporting Kansas City (moved home games to Kansas City, Kansas in 2008; still have front office and practice facilities in Kansas City, Missouri)	Soccer	Major League Soccer
St. Louis Browns (moved from Milwaukee in 1902; moved to Baltimore, Maryland after the 1953 season and are now the Baltimore Orioles)	Baseball	Major League Baseball
St. Louis Cardinals (moved from Chicago in 1960; moved to Tempe, Arizona in 1988 as the Phoenix Cardinals and now play in Glendale, Arizona as the Arizona Cardinals)	American football	National Football League
St. Louis Hawks (moved from Milwaukee in 1955; moved to Atlanta in 1968 and became the Atlanta Hawks)	Basketball	National Basketball Association
St. Louis Rams (moved from Anaheim, California in 1995; moved back to Los Angeles in 2016 and resumed the team's former identity of Los Angeles Rams)	American football	National Football League

Defunct

Club	Sport	League
FC Kansas City (folded in 2017 and roster transferred to Utah Royals FC; not related to the present-day Kansas City Current, though the Current inherited the roster of Utah Royals FC after that team folded in 2020)	Women's soccer	National Women's Soccer League
Kansas City Blues/Cowboys (active 1924–1926, folded)	American football	National Football League
Kansas City Monarchs (charter member of Negro National League, 1920. Played in Kansas City, MO, until moving to Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1956 after sending more players to Major League Baseball than any other Negro league team. The area's current American Association team renamed itself "Monarchs" in honor of this team shortly before the 2021 season.)	Negro league baseball	Negro National League Negro American League
Kansas City Phantoms	Indoor football	Champions Indoor Football
Kansas City Sizzlers (moved to Topeka as the Topeka Sizzlers in 1986)	Basketball	Continental Basketball Association
Missouri River Otters (franchise folded in 2006)	Ice hockey	United Hockey League
River City Rascals (franchise folded in 2019)	Baseball	Frontier League
Saint Louis Athletica (franchise folded in June 2010)	Women's soccer	Women's Professional Soccer
Saint Louis FC (folded after the 2020 season)	Soccer	USL Championship
Spirits of St. Louis (franchise played its home games in St. Louis from 1974 through 1976; franchise folded when the ABA merged with the NBA)	Basketball	American Basketball Association
St. Charles Chill (folded in 2014 after one season)	Ice hockey	Central Hockey League
St. Louis All Stars (active in 1923 only)	American football	National Football League
St. Louis Bombers (charter BAA franchise in 1946, joined the NBA when it formed in 1949; ceased operations in 1950)	Basketball	National Basketball Association
St. Louis Eagles (1934 relocation of the original Ottawa Senators, folded after the 1934–35 season)	Ice hockey	National Hockey League
St. Louis Gunners (independent team, joined the NFL for the last three weeks of the 1934 season and folded thereafter)	American football	National Football League
St. Louis Giants/Stars (1906–1931)	Negro league baseball	Negro National League

College sports

There are six NCAA Division I teams in the state, one of which started a transition from NCAA Division II in July 2022. The only D-I program in the Football Bowl Subdivision is the Missouri Tigers, with the Missouri State Bears and Lady Bears joining them in 2025. As of the 2024–25 school year, 13 schools play in NCAA Division II, with nine in the Great Lakes Valley Conference and four in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association.

Team	City	Division	Primary conference
Kansas City Roos	Kansas City	NCAA Division I	Summit League
Lindenwood Lions	St. Charles	NCAA Division I	Ohio Valley Conference
Missouri Tigers	Columbia	NCAA Division I	Southeastern Conference
Missouri State Bears and Lady Bears	Springfield	NCAA Division I	Missouri Valley Conference (Conference USA in 2025)
Saint Louis Billikens	St. Louis	NCAA Division I	Atlantic 10 Conference
Southeast Missouri Redhawks	Cape Girardeau	NCAA Division I	Ohio Valley Conference
Central Missouri Mules and Jennies	Warrensburg	NCAA Division II	MIAA
Drury Panthers	Springfield	NCAA Division II	Great Lakes Valley
Lincoln Blue Tigers	Jefferson City	NCAA Division II	Great Lakes Valley
Maryville Saints	Town and Country	NCAA Division II	Great Lakes Valley
Missouri S&T Miners	Rolla	NCAA Division II	Great Lakes Valley
Missouri Southern Lions	Joplin	NCAA Division II	MIAA
Missouri Western Griffons	St. Joseph	NCAA Division II	MIAA
Northwest Missouri State Bearcats	Maryville	NCAA Division II	MIAA
Rockhurst Hawks	Kansas City	NCAA Division II	Great Lakes Valley
Southwest Baptist Bearcats	Bolivar	NCAA Division II	Great Lakes Valley
Truman Bulldogs	Kirksville	NCAA Division II	Great Lakes Valley
UMSL Tritons	St. Louis	NCAA Division II	Great Lakes Valley
William Jewell Cardinals	Liberty	NCAA Division II	Great Lakes Valley
Fontbonne Griffins	Clayton	NCAA Division III	St. Louis (closing in 2025)
Washington University Bears	St. Louis	NCAA Division III	University Athletic Association
Webster Gorloks	Webster Groves	NCAA Division III	St. Louis
Westminster Blue Jays	Fulton	NCAA Division III	St. Louis

See also

• Sports in Kansas City
• Sports in St. Louis
• Soccer in St. Louis