Overview of sports opportunities in the Tampa Bay area
A road sign celebrating some of Tampa's sporting success. These signs can be seen in multiple places around the city.
The Tampa Bay area is home to many sports teams and has a substantial history of sporting activity. Most of the region's professional sports franchises use the name "Tampa Bay", which is the name of a body of water, not of any city. This is to emphasize that they represent the wider metropolitan area and not a particular municipality and was a tradition started by Tampa's first major sports team, the original Tampa Bay Rowdies, when they were founded in 1975.
Tampa currently has three franchises competing in the four major Northern American leagues. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers play in the National Football League (NFL), the Tampa Bay Lightning play in the National Hockey League (NHL), and the Tampa Bay Rays play in Major League Baseball (MLB). Additionally, six MLB teams hold their spring training camps in the area.
A number of minor league franchises play in the region as well, including the Tampa Bay Rowdies of the USL Championship, Tampa Bay Sun FC of the USL Super League, and five minor league baseball teams competing in Low-A Southeast.
In intercollegiate sports, the University of South Florida Bulls compete in NCAA Division I, while Eckerd College, Saint Leo University and the University of Tampa compete in NCAA Division II.
Between September 2020 and July 2021 all three of Tampa Bay's major teams, as well as the Tampa Bay Rowdies, qualified for their sport's championship series at least once. The Lightning beat the Dallas Stars in the 2020 Stanley Cup Finals, the Rays won the AL Pennant, that got them classified for the 2020 World Series which they lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Rowdies and Phoenix Rising FC were named co-league champions after the USL Championship game was canceled due to COVID-19, the Buccaneers beat the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV, and the Lightning beat the Montreal Canadiens in the 2021 Stanley Cup Finals. The success continued with the Rowdies winning the 2021 USL regular season title and reaching the 2021 USL Championship game and the Lightning reaching the 2022 Stanley Cup Finals. This dynasty earned the area the nickname "Champa Bay" and the city was named the best sports city in the country by Sports Business Journal.[1][2][3][4]
^Chu, Andrea (February 5, 2021). "Bucs' Super Bowl Bid Caps Off an Incredible Year for Tampa Bay Sports". WTSP. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
^Baker, Matt (February 8, 2021). "Tampa Bay Joins Elite Company with Second Pro Title in a Year". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
^"'Champa Bay' celebrates third pro title in less than a year". The Seattle Times. 2021-07-07. Retrieved 2021-07-09.
^"Year-End Awards: Best Sports City". www.sportsbusinessjournal.com. Retrieved 2023-03-31.
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