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NYT Connections Sports Edition · #724

NYT Connections Sports Edition Hints & Answers (#724) — September 17, 2026

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Earlier Sep 16 This puzzle Sep 17 Later Sep 18

“Start with the group that has the clearest, most literal sports meaning before moving to the ones that depend on geography or proper nouns.”

NYT Sports Connections hints for September 17, 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 →

1

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 BELMONTBelmont University in Nashville — better known for basketball than its famous namesake horse race.
2 BRADLEYBradley University in Peoria, Illinois — the Braves, competing in the Missouri Valley Conference.
3 CONFERENCEThe Big Ten, the SEC — a named collection of teams that compete together.
4 DIVISIONA subdivision within a league — like the NFC East or AL Central.
5 DRAKEDrake University in Des Moines, Iowa — not the rapper, despite every instinct saying otherwise.
6 GROUPThe tournament-stage version — teams sorted into Group A, Group B, and so on.
7 LEAGUEThe broadest organising unit — think NFL, NBA, or Premier League.
8 LITTLELittle Giants — Wabash College's official athletic nickname and the title of a 1994 football comedy film.
9 LONDONHost of the 2012 Summer Olympics — also a trap for solvers thinking of Arsenal or Chelsea.
10 NEW YORKThe New York Giants — one of the NFL's oldest franchises, now based in New Jersey.
11 NORTHERN IOWAThe University of Northern Iowa Panthers — the most geographically descriptive name of the four.
12 PARISHost of the 2024 Summer Olympics — also a trap for solvers thinking of PSG.
13 RIO DE JANEIROHost of the 2016 Summer Olympics — the first held in South America.
14 SAN FRANCISCOThe San Francisco Giants — MLB's National League West team, formerly of New York.
15 TOKYOHost of the 2020 Summer Olympics, delayed to 2021 due to the pandemic.
16 YOMIURIThe Yomiuri Giants — Japan's most famous professional baseball team, based in Tokyo.
2

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 What you call a bunch of teams playing together.
See Group A COLLECTION OF TEAMS
See WordCONFERENCE
See WordLEAGUE
See WordDIVISION
See WordGROUP
See Hint Cities that lit the Olympic flame this century.
See Group LAST FOUR SUMMER OLYMPICS HOSTS
See WordPARIS
See WordTOKYO
See WordRIO DE JANEIRO
See WordLONDON
See Hint Four schools sharing a mid-major college athletics home.
See Group MISSOURI VALLEY SCHOOLS
See WordDRAKE
See WordBELMONT
See WordBRADLEY
See WordNORTHERN IOWA
See Hint Put one word after each of these and you have a team — or a movie.
See Group _____ GIANTS
See WordLITTLE
See WordNEW YORK
See WordSAN FRANCISCO
See WordYOMIURI
3

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 DRAKE Tap to see why this word traps.
You're almost certainly thinking of the Canadian rapper — that's the bait. Here it's a university in Des Moines, Iowa, competing in college athletics.
2 GROUP Tap to see why this word traps.
Feels too generic to anchor anywhere — but the puzzle is using it in a specific sports-tournament sense, the same way CONFERENCE and DIVISION work.

NYT Sports Connections answers for September 17, 2026

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

Y A COLLECTION OF TEAMS · Yellow · easiest
  • CONFERENCE
  • LEAGUE
  • DIVISION
  • GROUP

CONFERENCE, LEAGUE, DIVISION and GROUP all describe a collection of sports teams organized under one structure. GROUP is the sneakiest — it earns its place through the tournament 'group stage' format, which is less instinctive than the other three.

G LAST FOUR SUMMER OLYMPICS HOSTS · Green · easy
  • PARIS
  • TOKYO
  • RIO DE JANEIRO
  • LONDON

PARIS, TOKYO, RIO DE JANEIRO and LONDON hosted the last four Summer Olympics: London 2012, Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020 (held in 2021) and Paris 2024. Tokyo is the only non-Western city in the group, which helps separate it from any European soccer trap.

B MISSOURI VALLEY SCHOOLS · Blue · medium
  • DRAKE
  • BELMONT
  • BRADLEY
  • NORTHERN IOWA

DRAKE, BELMONT, BRADLEY and NORTHERN IOWA are all members of the Missouri Valley Conference. DRAKE is the biggest trap — Drake University in Des Moines is a legitimate MVC school, but the rapper's fame makes most solvers hesitate.

P _____ GIANTS · Purple · hardest
  • LITTLE
  • NEW YORK
  • SAN FRANCISCO
  • YOMIURI

LITTLE, NEW YORK, SAN FRANCISCO and YOMIURI all precede GIANTS to name a real team or cultural touchstone: the Little Giants (Wabash College's official athletic nickname and the 1994 ensemble comedy film), the New York Giants (NFL), the San Francisco Giants (MLB) and the Yomiuri Giants (Japan's most storied pro baseball franchise). YOMIURI is the key unlock — once you place it, the pattern snaps into focus.

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