List of Virginia Sports Teams: College and Professional Sports Teams in VA

Fact Checked by Wes Roesch
Virginia Tech Hokies

Virginia is home to a number of college sports teams. What Virginia doesn't have, however, are professional sports teams.

Residents in Virginia claim pro teams located in Washington, D.C. as their own while choosing from 11 different Division 1 programs to follow. Virginia sports betting laws give fans an option to bet on pro sports teams but doesn't allow betting on in-state college teams.

Major Pro Sports Teams in Virginia

Though Virginia is home to a handful of minor league sports teams, VA is one of the few states unable to claim any major professional sports teams. In fact, Virginia has the highest population with no major pro sports teams in the U.S.

That doesn't mean the state hasn't tried, however. There have been multiple attempts to relocate franchises to Alexandria, Virginia such as the Washington Commanders in 1992 and most recently the Washington Wizards and Washington Capitals in 2023. Additionally, three separate MLB teams – the Houston Astros, Montreal Expos, and Miami Marlins in 1996, 2004, and 2012, respectively – all at the very least explored moving their franchise to Norfolk, VA.

That said, Virginia residents claim a number of teams as their own with multiple pro sports teams located near Virginia.

TeamLeagueLocation
Washington CommandersNFLLandover, Md.
Washington WizardsNBAWashington, D.C.
Washington NationalsMLBWashington, D.C.
Washington CapitalsNHLWashington, D.C.
Washington SpiritNWSLWashington, D.C.

You can find numerous betting options and odds on the Washington Commanders on the Fanatics VA sportsbook.

College Sports Teams in Virginia

While Virginia college sports teams aren't the most popular across the U.S. there are plenty to choose from across the state. Norfolk is home to two D1 collegiate sports teams with 10 other Virginia cities playing host to notable colleges and universities.

As long as you're in the state you won't find any of the college teams below on VA sportsbook apps.

TeamConferenceLocation
Virginia CavaliersACCCharlottesville
Virginia Tech HokiesACCBlacksburg
George Mason PatriotsA-10Fairfax
James Madison DukesSun BeltHarrisonburg
Old Dominion MonarchsSun BeltNorfolk
Liberty FlamesConference USALynchburg
William & Mary TribeCAAWilliamsburg
Richmond SpidersA-10Richmond
Radford HighlandersBig SouthRadford
Hampton PiratesCAAHampton
Norfolk State SpartansMEACNorfolk
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List of All Virginia Sport Team Nicknames

Like we stated above, there are actually no major pro sports teams in Virginia. But Virginia claims nearby D.C.-area teams so we included them for this list of Virginia sports team nicknames:

  • Capitals
  • Cavaliers
  • Commanders
  • Dominion
  • Dukes
  • Flames
  • Highlanders
  • Hokies
  • Monarchs
  • Nationals
  • Patriots
  • Pirates
  • Spartans
  • Spiders
  • Tribe
  • Wizards

Virginia Sports Teams FAQs

Author

Tyler Olson

Tyler Olson has worked in sports media for over a decade, writing, editing, and optimizing primarily NFL and sports betting content. His primary focus is giving users in Virginia the most up-to-date information on operators and sharing the latest promo code offerings they have to offer.

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