Professional sports teams based in Utah encompass multiple teams including the NBA's Jazz and Major League Soccer's Real Salt Lake. Utah is the least populous U.S. state to have major professional sports league franchises.
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| Utah professional sports teams (historical) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Club | Year introduced | Sport | League |
| Lagoon | 1901 | Baseball | Inter-Mountain League |
| Ogden | 1901 | Baseball | Inter-Mountain League |
| Park City | 1901 | Baseball | Inter-Mountain League |
| Salt Lake City | 1901 | Baseball | Inter-Mountain League |
| Salt Lake City Elders | 1903 | Baseball | Pacific National League |
| Salt Lake City Mormons | 1909 | Baseball | Inter-Mountain League |
| Salt Lake City Skyscrapers | 1911 | Baseball | Union Association |
| Ogden Canners | 1912 | Baseball | Union Association |
| Murray Infants | 1914 | Baseball | Union Association |
| Salt Lake Bees (Three previous franchises) | 1915, 1946, 1958 | Baseball | Utah-Idaho League / Pacific Coast League / Pioneer League |
| Logan Collegians | 1926 | Baseball | Utah-Idaho League |
| Ogden Gunners | 1926 | Baseball | Utah-Idaho League |
| Ogden Reds | 1939 | Baseball | Pioneer League |
| Ogden Dodgers | 1966 | Baseball | Pioneer League |
| Salt Lake City Giants | 1967 | Baseball | Pioneer League |
| Salt Lake Golden Eagles | 1969 | Ice Hockey | WHL / CHL / IHL |
| Utah Stars | 1970 | Basketball | American Basketball Association |
| Salt Lake City Angels | 1971 | Baseball | Pacific Coast League |
| Ogden Spikers | 1974 | Baseball | Pioneer League |
| Salt Lake City Gulls | 1975 | Baseball | Pacific Coast League |
| Utah Golden Spikers (FKA Utah Pioneers) | 1976 | Soccer | American Soccer League |
| Utah Rockies | 1976 | Basketball | American Basketball Association |
| Salt Lake City Prospectors | 1978 | Basketball | Western Basketball Association |
| Ogden A's | 1979 | Baseball | Pacific Coast League |
| Salt Lake City Stingers | 1979 | Volleyball | International Volleyball Association |
| Salt Lake City Trappers | 1985 | Baseball | Pioneer League |
| Salt Lake Sting | 1990 | Soccer | American Professional Soccer League |
| Utah Pioneers | 1992 | Football | Professional Spring Football League |
| Utah Rollerbees | 1993 | Inline hockey | Roller Hockey International |
| Salt Lake Buzz | 1994 | Baseball | Pacific Coast League |
| Utah Predators | 1994 | Volleyball | Women's Western Volleyball League |
| Utah Starzz | 1997 | Basketball | Women's National Basketball Association |
| Utah Catzz | 1997 | Indoor football | Professional Indoor Football League |
| St. George Pioneerzz (FKA Zion Pioneerzz) | 1999 | Baseball | Western Baseball League |
| Utah Freezz | 1999 | Indoor soccer | World Indoor Soccer League |
| Utah Blitzz | 1999 | Soccer | USL Second Division |
| Provo Angels | 2001 | Baseball | Pioneer League |
| Utah Rattlers | 2001 | Indoor football | National Indoor Football League |
| Salt Lake Stingers | 2002 | Baseball | Pacific Coast League |
| Utah Salt Ratz | 2003 | Soccer | National Premier Soccer League |
| Utah Warriors | 2003 | Indoor football | National Indoor Football League |
| Utah Snowbears | 2004 | Basketball | American Basketball Association (new) |
| Salt Lake Dream | 2006 | Basketball | American Basketball Association (new) |
| Utah Eagles | 2006 | Basketball | Continental Basketball Association |
| Rush Salt Lake City | 2007 | Soccer | Women's Premier Soccer League |
| St. George RoadRunners | 2007 | Baseball | Golden Baseball League |
| Utah Flash | 2007 | Basketball | NBA Development League |
| Utah Saints | 2008 | Indoor football | American Indoor Football Association |
| Ogden Knights | 2009 | Indoor football | American Indoor Football Association |
The professionals sports team nicknames are often noted for the unusual frequency of the letter Z appearing in team nicknames (such as the Utah Jazz). This phenomenon reached the peak of its popularity during the 1990s; however, several Utah teams continue to make use of the letter Z. At least ten Utah-based professional sports franchises have used team names that include the letter Z, some of which are intentionally spelled incorrectly, using the Z unnecessarily or as a replacement for another letter. Commenting on the proliferation of such team names, New York Times sportswriter Alan Schwarz called Utah "the state where sports fans go to get their Z's."[1]
The popularity of the Z in Utah sports was likely inspired in part by the unusual nickname of the Utah Jazz NBA team, which in 1979 relocated from New Orleans — which is noted for Jazz — to Salt Lake City, which is not. Up until the early 1990s, Utah's other professional teams used somewhat conventional nicknames (such as the Stars, Golden Eagles, and Trappers).
With the arrival of the Salt Lake Buzz in 1994, the similarity of the nicknames "Buzz" and "Jazz" was unmistakable (although the name "Buzz" was really a play on the name of owner Joe Buzas, as well as a nod to Utah's "Beehive State" moniker).[2][3] The following year, the Utah Grizzlies minor league hockey team also entered the market.
The announcement of the Utah Starzz WNBA franchise in 1996 cemented the state's propensity for using the letter Z in its team names. [4] The peculiar "Starzz" nickname was an homage to the Jazz (as well as to the old Utah Stars ABA team).[5] The precedent firmly set, several -zz teams entered the Utah market in subsequent years, to include the Utah Catzz, Utah Freezz, and Utah Blitzz.
From 1994 to 1999, at least seven professional sports teams in the state adopted nicknames containing a double Z (see table below). All of these team names ended in -zz, except the Utah Grizzlies (which are also commonly called "the Grizz").[6] With the exception of the Jazz and Grizzlies, none of the -zz teams remain in Utah today, each having relocated, folded, or renamed the franchise.
The Ogden Raptors (1994–present) were the only notable Utah pro franchise to forgo use of the letter Z when entering the Utah market during the 1990s. The Raptors offered this as a selling point, using the slogan "All the fun without the ZZs!"[7] Since 2000, new and renamed franchises have tended to steer away from the Z naming fad, opting instead for names such as Salt Lake Bees, Utah Flash and Real Salt Lake. However, the creation of the Orem Owlz in 2005 and the Utah Blaze in 2006 provide some indication that Utah's Z nicknaming trend continues.
| Selected Utah Professional sports teams | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -ZZ teams | |||||
| Team Name | Sport (League) | Nickname still in use | Years used | ||
| Utah Jazz | Basketball (NBA) | Yes | 1979–present | ||
| Salt Lake Buzz | Baseball (PCL) | No - Renamed | 1994–2001 | ||
| Utah Grizzlies | Hockey (IHL/AHL/ECHL) | Yes | 1995–present (two franchises) | ||
| Utah Starzz | Basketball (WNBA) | No - Relocated | 1997–2002 | ||
| Utah Catzz | Indoor football (PIFL) | No - Folded | 1997–1998 | ||
| Utah Freezz | Indoor soccer (WISL) | No - Folded | 1999–2001 | ||
| Utah Blitzz | Soccer (USL-2) | No - Folded | 1999–2004 | ||
| St. George Pioneerzz | Baseball (WBL) | No - Folded | 1999–2001 | ||
| Other Z teams | |||||
| Orem Owlz | Baseball (Pioneer League) | Yes | 2005–present | ||
| Utah Blaze | Arena football (AFL I and AFL II | Yes | 2006–present | ||
| Notable non-Z teams introduced since 1990 | |||||
| Ogden Raptors | Baseball (Pioneer League) | Yes | 1994–present | ||
| Utah Rattlers | Indoor football (NIFL) | No - Folded | 2001 | ||
| Salt Lake Stingers/Bees | Baseball (PCL) | Yes | 2002–present | ||
| Utah Warriors | Indoor football (NIFL) | No - Folded | 2003–2004 | ||
| Real Salt Lake | Soccer (MLS) | Yes | 2004–present | ||
| Utah Snowbears | Basketball (new ABA) | No - Folded | 2004–2005 | ||
| Utah Eagles | Basketball (CBA) | No - Folded | 2006–2007 | ||
| St. George RoadRunners | Baseball (GBL) | No - Relocated | 2006–2010 | ||
| Utah Flash | Basketball (NBA D-League) | Yes | 2007–present | ||
| Utah Saints | Indoor football (AIFA) | No - Folded | 2008 - 2008 | ||
Notes:
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