Five of the major league professional sports currently have teams in Minnesota: the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball, the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League, the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association, and the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association. The Twins won the World Series in 1987 and 1991. The Vikings have gone to the Super Bowl four times, losing each one. The Minnesota North Stars of the National Hockey League moved to Dallas in 1993, but a new NHL team, the Minnesota Wild, joined the league in 2000.
In collegiate sports, the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers compete in the Big Ten Conference. The football team won the Rose Bowl in 1962, while the basketball team won the Big Ten title and advanced to the NCAA Final Four in 1997. The university is probably best known for its ice hockey team, which won the NCAA title three times during the 1970s and supplied the coach, Herb Brooks, and many of the players for the gold medal–winning US team in the 1980 Winter Olympics.
Other annual sporting events include the John Beargrease Sled Dog Race between Duluth and Grand Marais in January or early February, and auto racing at the Brainerd International Raceway in July and August. Alpine and cross-country skiing are popular.
Tracy Caulkins, Roger Maris, and Kevin McHale, past stars in swimming, baseball and basketball, respectively, were all born in Minnesota.