Sports in California



California currently has 19 major professional sports franchises, far more than any other US state. The San Francisco Bay Area has seven major league teams spread amongst three cities: San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose. The Greater Los Angeles Area has ten major league teams. San Diego and Sacramento each have one major league team.

Top tier professional sports teams

 * Major League Baseball
 * Los Angeles Angels (1961) – based in Anaheim
 * Los Angeles Dodgers (1958)
 * Oakland Athletics (1968)
 * San Diego Padres (1969)
 * San Francisco Giants (1958)
 * National Basketball Association
 * Golden State Warriors (1962) – based in San Francisco
 * Los Angeles Clippers (1984)
 * Los Angeles Lakers (1960)
 * Sacramento Kings (1985)
 * National Football League
 * Los Angeles Chargers (1960) – plays in Carson, headquarters in Costa Mesa
 * Los Angeles Rams (1946) – headquarters in Agoura Hills
 * Oakland Raiders (1960) – will leave the state for Las Vegas, Nevada, most likely in 2020
 * San Francisco 49ers (1946) – plays in Santa Clara; headquarters also in Santa Clara
 * National Hockey League
 * Anaheim Ducks (1993)
 * Los Angeles Kings (1967)
 * San Jose Sharks (1991)
 * Major League Soccer
 * LA Galaxy (1996) – based in Carson
 * Los Angeles FC (2018)
 * San Jose Earthquakes (1996) – based in San Jose
 * Women's National Basketball Association
 * Los Angeles Sparks (1997)

College sports
Home to some of most prominent universities in the United States, California has long had many respected collegiate sports programs, in particular the University of Southern California, University of California, Berkeley, UCLA, Stanford University, all of which are members of the Pac-12 Conference. They are often nationally ranked in the various sports and dominate media coverage of college sports in the state. In addition, those Universities boast the highest academic standards (on average) of all major college (NCAA Division I) programs. All 4 schools are ranked, academically, in the top 30 nationally with Cal (specifically) ranked as the #1 public university in the country (usually about #15 overall) and Stanford is the highest academically ranked Division 1A university in the country (usually #5 overall).

California is also home to the oldest college bowl game, the annual Rose Bowl (Pasadena), as well as the National Funding Holiday Bowl (San Diego) and Foster Farms Bowl (San Francisco). A second San Diego game, the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl, was discontinued after the 2016 season.

The Great Heisman State
California has produced the most Heisman Trophy winners. Fourteen winners were both born and played high school football in the Golden State. Seven played collegiately at USC and one each at UCLA, Stanford, Army, Texas, Colorado, Notre Dame, and Miami.
 * 1946 Glenn Davis from Bonita High School in La Verne
 * 1964 John Huarte from Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana
 * 1965 Mike Garrett from Roosevelt High School in Los Angeles
 * 1967 Gary Beban from Sequoia High School in Redwood City
 * 1968 O. J. Simpson from Galileo High School in San Francisco
 * 1970 Jim Plunkett from William C. Overfelt High School, then James Lick High School, in East San Jose
 * 1979 Charles White from San Fernando High School in San Fernando
 * 1981 Marcus Allen from Abraham Lincoln High School in San Diego
 * 1992 Gino Torretta from Pinole Valley High School in Pinole
 * 1994 Rashaan Salaam from La Jolla Country Day School in La Jolla
 * 1998 Ricky Williams from Patrick Henry High School in San Diego
 * 2002 Carson Palmer from Santa Margarita Catholic High School in Rancho Santa Margarita
 * 2004 Matt Leinart from Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana
 * 2005 (vacated in 2010) Reggie Bush from Helix High School in La Mesa

NCAA Division I members
The following California universities are members of NCAA Division I, or have announced plans to upgrade from Division II to Division I (highlighted in green):

International sports events
California has hosted the Olympic Games three times. Los Angeles, the largest city in the state, hosted both the 1932 and 1984 Summer Olympics. Squaw Valley, California hosted the 1960 Winter Olympics. Los Angeles and San Francisco were in the race for the United States Olympic Committee nomination to host the 2016 Summer Olympics, but eventually lost to Chicago. Los Angeles will host the Olympic Games for a third time in 2028.

Besides the Olympics, California has also hosted several major international soccer events:
 * Two of the venues for the 1994 FIFA World Cup were in the state—Stanford Stadium at Stanford University, with San Francisco serving as the official host city, and the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, with Los Angeles as the host city. The Rose Bowl hosted the final, won by Brazil in a penalty shootout with Italy.
 * Both stadiums were also used for the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup, along with Spartan Stadium (now CEFCU Stadium) in San Jose. The Rose Bowl again hosted the final, in which a crowd of over 90,000—the largest ever to witness a women's sporting event to this day—saw the USA defeat China in another penalty shootout, capped off by Brandi Chastain's famous shirt-stripping moment.
 * The 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup used one California venue, The Home Depot Center (now Dignity Health Sports Park) in Carson. It hosted the final of that competition, won by Germany over Sweden.
 * The Rose Bowl and Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara hosted matches in the Copa América Centenario, which celebrated the 100th anniversary of South America's international competition and was hosted by the U.S. in 2016.

Local sports
Most city municipals house a variety of sports activities. The available sports are typically listed on their city websites. Additionally, there are a variety of California Sports activities listed on FindSportsNow's California database.

Motorsports
California has also long been a hub for motorsports and auto racing. The city of Long Beach holds an event every year in the month of April, which is host to IndyCar Series racing through the streets of downtown. Long Beach has hosted Formula One events there in the past, and also currently hosts an event on the United SportsCar Championship schedule. Auto Club Speedway is a speedway in Fontana and currently hosts one NASCAR Cup Series race along with the 2nd-tier Xfinity Series a year. Sonoma Raceway is a multi-purpose facility outside Sonoma, featuring a road course and a drag strip. Different versions of the road course are home to a NASCAR event and an IndyCar event. The drag strip hosts a yearly NHRA event. Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca is a road course near Monterey that currently hosts an ALMS event, a round of the Rolex Sports Car Series and the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion. The Auto Club Raceway at Pomona has hosted NHRA drag racing for over 50 years.

The NASCAR Cup Series holds two races in California, one each at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana and at Sonoma Raceway, formerly Sears Point Raceway. The IndyCar Series competes every April in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, through the streets of downtown Long Beach. IndyCar also holds an event at Sonoma in the summer. The NHRA Drag Racing Series holds three national events in California, as well; two at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona (formerly Pomona Raceway) and at the aforementioned Sonoma Raceway.

Notable off-road courses include Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park, Glen Helen Raceway and Prairie City State Park. Also, the AMA Supercross Series holds several events in stadiums at Californian cities such as Anaheim, Oakland, and San Diego.

Golf
California has several notable golf courses, like Cypress Point Club, Olympic Club, Pebble Beach Golf Links, Riviera Country Club – Pacific Palisades, California and Torrey Pines Golf Course. Notable tournaments include the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Northern Trust Open, Farmers Insurance Open.

Notable Californian golfers include Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Johnny Miller, Gene Littler, Amy Alcott, Paula Creamer and Juli Inkster.

Horse racing
Horse racing is regulated by the California Horse Racing Board. Notable racetracks include Santa Anita Park, Del Mar Fairgrounds, Los Alamitos, Golden Gate Fields and Pleasanton Fairgrounds. Notable races include the Santa Anita Derby, Santa Anita Handicap, Pacific Classic Stakes and Champion of Champions.

Former racetracks include Bay Meadows and Hollywood Park.

Others
The California State Games, a statewide Olympics-like sport event, take place in California every year. The United States Olympic Committee governs this event.

Many of California's high school teams are often nationally ranked.

Skateboarding
Skateboarding is a sport heavily associated with California as it is the place where the sport started. Professional skateboarder Tony Hawk was born in Carlsbad, California in 1968 and was involved in many bowlriding and vert competitions there.

Northern California – Southern California rivalry
Most of the teams from Northern California and Southern California are involved in intrastate rivalries. There are particularly strong rivalries between the Bay Area and Los Angeles teams.