The Connecticut Sun became the state's first major league team when it joined the WNBA in 2003. The team was formerly the Orlando Miracle. Connecticut's only other major league professional team, the Hartford Whalers of the National Hockey League, moved to North Carolina following the 1996–97 season and became the Carolina Hurricanes. The New England Seawolves are members of the Arena Football League. New Haven has a minor league baseball franchise, the Ravens, as do Norwich and New Britain. There are also minor league hockey and basketball teams in the state. Auto racing takes place at Lime Rock Race Track, which is located in Salisbury.
The state licenses off-track betting facilities for horse racing (not actually held in the state) and pari-mutuel operations for greyhound racing and jai alai.
Connecticut schools, colleges, and universities provide amateur athletic competitions, highlighted by Ivy League football games on autumn Saturdays at the Yale Bowl in New Haven. While Yale has won 13 Ivy League football titles, the University of Connecticut has become a force in men's and women's basketball. The Huskies' women's team won the NCAA championship in 1995 and 2000, and back-to-back titles in 2002 and 2003. They have also advanced to two other Final Four tournaments. The men's team won the National Invitational Tournament in 1988 and has made 37 NCAA Tournament appearances and won the national championship in 1999. Other annual sporting events include the US Eastern Ski Jumping Championships in Salisbury in February and the Greater Hartford Open Golf Tournament in Cromwell in June and July.