GHENT, WV (WVNS)– There are 24 states in the United States without teams in the NFL (football), MLB (baseball), NBA (basketball), or the NHL (hockey).
The big four sports leagues are known nationwide, with each one spanning between 30 to 32 teams throughout the US and Canada. Some states even have several teams in the same league, places like New York, Texas, Florida, and California are some that have at least two teams in their state in the same league.
However, did you know that almost half of the US states do not have a single team in any of the four leagues?
Even our very own West Virginia.
Here are the 24 states without professional sports teams:
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arkansas
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Maine
- Mississippi
- Montana
- Nebraska
- New Hampshire
- New Mexico
- North Dakota
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Vermont
- Virginia
- West Virginia
- Wyoming
Though factors such as a low population can contribute to the lack of teams in certain states, places like Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Virginia, and Kentucky are examples of states with an impressive population but still no teams in the NFL, MLB, NBA, or NHL.
So, other factors such as having a difficult geography can also factor in, along with others.
