The Olympic sports of basketball and volleyball were invented in Western Massachusetts (in Springfield at Springfield College and Holyoke, respectively). The Basketball Hall of Fame, a shrine to the sport's history, is a major tourist destination in the City of Springfield. The Volleyball Hall of Fame is located in Holyoke.
Massachusetts has a long history with amateur athletics and professional teams. Most of the major professional teams have won multiple championships in their respective leagues. Massachusetts teams have won six Stanley Cups (Boston Bruins), seventeen NBA Championships (Boston Celtics), three Super Bowls (New England Patriots), and eight World Series (seven for the Boston Red Sox, one for the Boston Braves). The American Hockey League, (AHL,) the NHL's development league, is headquartered in Springfield. Other professional sports teams in Massachusetts include the Springfield Falcons AHL team, the Worcester Sharks AHL team, and the Springfield Armor NBA Development League team.
Massachusetts is also the home of the Cape Cod Baseball League, rowing events such as the Eastern Sprints on Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester and the Head of the Charles Regatta, and the Boston Marathon. A number of major golf events have taken place in Massachusetts, including nine U.S. Opens and two Ryder Cups, among others. The New England Revolution is the Major League Soccer team in Massachusetts, and the Boston Cannons are the Major League Lacrosse team. The Boston Breakers are the Women's Professional Soccer in Massachusetts.
A gymnastics center called Brestyan's American Gymnastics has also become well known in the competitive gymnastics world in the last decade for producing several internationally successful gymnasts like Olympic silver medalist and vault world champion Alicia Sacramone, 2011 world champion and two time Olympic Gold medalist Aly Raisman, and Canadian national team member Talia Chiarelli.
Several universities in Massachusetts are notable for their collegiate athletics. Boston College fields teams in the nationally televised Atlantic Coast Conference, while Harvard University competes in the famed Ivy League. Boston University, Northeastern University, College of the Holy Cross, and UMass Lowell and UMass Amherst also participate in Division I athletics. Many other Massachusetts colleges compete in lower divisions such as Division III, where MIT, Amherst College, Williams College, and others field teams.
Outdoor recreationLong-distance hiking trails in Massachusetts include the Appalachian Trail, the New England National Scenic Trail, the Metacomet-Monadnock Trail, the Midstate Trail, and the Bay Circuit Trail. Other outdoor recreational activities in Massachusetts include sailing and yachting, freshwater and deep-sea fishing, whale watching, downhill and cross-country skiing, and hunting.
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