NYT Connections Sports Edition · #719

NYT Connections Sports Edition Hints & Answers (#719) — September 12, 2026

By Sneha Rajput·September 12, 2026

“Lock in the two groups you know cold before touching anything that feels vague or abstract — the words that seem like moods or feelings are not what they appear to be.”

NYT Sports Connections hints for September 12, 2026

Three levels of help — a definition for every word, colour-coded group nudges, and a heads-up on the traps. Skip to all answers →

Word clues

A spoiler-free definition for every word in the grid. Tap the eye on any card to reveal which colour-group it belongs to.

1 ARCHArch Manning, Eli's nephew and the next generation of the family — easy to miss if you don't follow college football.

2 ARCHIEThe patriarch — Archie Manning played for the Saints and is the father of Peyton and Eli.

3 CARDINALSArizona's NFL team — they relocated from St. Louis in 1988.

4 CHAMPAIGNIllinois city that hosts the University of Illinois — not to be confused with the sparkling wine.

5 COLUMBUSOhio's capital and home of Ohio State — the explorer association is the bait.

6 DIAMONDBACKSArizona's MLB team, named after the rattlesnake native to the region.

7 ELITwo-time Super Bowl MVP who played his entire career with the New York Giants.

8 LINCOLNNebraska's capital city and home of the Cornhuskers — not the president.

9 MERCURYPhoenix's WNBA franchise; the celestial name is the trap that makes this group tricky.

10 PEYTONTwo-time Super Bowl champion and the most decorated Manning of the group.

11 PISCATAWAYNew Jersey home of Rutgers University, the Big Ten's easternmost campus.

12 PULSEAn MLV team name that reads as a heartbeat or rhythm — nothing medical about it here.

13 SUNSPhoenix's NBA franchise, one of the most recognisable in the desert.

14 SUPERNOVASAn MLV franchise — the astronomical name is what makes MERCURY and SUNS feel like they belong here instead.

15 VALKYRIESAn MLV team named after the Norse mythological figures — the most team-name-sounding word of the four.

16 VIBEAn MLV franchise whose name sounds like a mood, not a sports team.

Group hints

Four colour-coded groups, easiest → hardest. Every button reveals the hint, the category name, or a single word — tap only what you need.

See Hint

The Valley of the Sun has a team for every season.

See Group

ARIZONA PRO TEAMS

See Word

SUNS

See Word

DIAMONDBACKS

See Word

CARDINALS

See Word

MERCURY

See Hint

Campus towns scattered across the conference's footprint.

See Group

BIG TEN SCHOOL LOCATIONS

See Word

CHAMPAIGN

See Word

COLUMBUS

See Word

PISCATAWAY

See Word

LINCOLN

See Hint

One last name, four quarterbacks across three generations.

See Group

MANNING FAMILY MEMBERS

See Word

ARCH

See Word

PEYTON

See Word

ELI

See Word

ARCHIE

See Hint

A newer pro league gave these names to its clubs.

See Group

MAJOR LEAGUE VOLLEYBALL TEAMS

See Word

SUPERNOVAS

See Word

PULSE

See Word

VIBE

See Word

VALKYRIES

Words the puzzle wants you to mis-group

Read these before you guess — they're the words most likely to break a streak. Tap for the trap.

1 ARCH Tap to see why this word traps.

You're probably picturing a curved structure — or maybe an arch-rival — but here it's a first name belonging to the youngest generation of a famous football family.

2 PULSE Tap to see why this word traps.

You're probably reading it as a heartbeat or a rhythm, but the puzzle is using it as a proper noun in a sports context that has nothing to do with biology.

3 VIBE Tap to see why this word traps.

Reads immediately as a mood or atmosphere, but here it's a team name in a league most casual sports fans haven't followed.

4 LINCOLN Tap to see why this word traps.

You're probably thinking of the president, but the puzzle is using it as a city — specifically the one in Nebraska that hosts a Big Ten program.

5 COLUMBUS Tap to see why this word traps.

The explorer is the obvious read, but here it's a Midwestern city that is home to one of the biggest college football programs in the country.

NYT Sports Connections answers for September 12, 2026

All four groups revealed, easiest first. Each card holds the theme, the four words, and why the group works.

Y ARIZONA PRO TEAMS · Yellow · easiest

SUNS
DIAMONDBACKS
CARDINALS
MERCURY

SUNS, DIAMONDBACKS, CARDINALS and MERCURY are all professional sports franchises based in Arizona. The MERCURY is the easiest to overlook — it's the WNBA team, while the other three cover NBA, MLB and NFL.

G BIG TEN SCHOOL LOCATIONS · Green · easy

CHAMPAIGN
COLUMBUS
PISCATAWAY
LINCOLN

CHAMPAIGN, COLUMBUS, PISCATAWAY and LINCOLN are all cities that host Big Ten universities. PISCATAWAY is the hardest — it's in New Jersey and is home to Rutgers, which many fans forget joined the Big Ten.

B MANNING FAMILY MEMBERS · Blue · medium

ARCH
PEYTON
ELI
ARCHIE

ARCH, PEYTON, ELI and ARCHIE are all members of the Manning quarterback dynasty. ARCH is the trickiest — Arch Manning is Eli's nephew, the youngest of the family's QBs and the least famous of the four.

P MAJOR LEAGUE VOLLEYBALL TEAMS · Purple · hardest

SUPERNOVAS
PULSE
VIBE
VALKYRIES

SUPERNOVAS, PULSE, VIBE and VALKYRIES are all team names in Major League Volleyball, the professional women's volleyball league launched in the United States. The league is young enough that most sports fans have never encountered these names, making this the hardest group by far.

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