The US Sports Calendar: When Every Major Season Starts and Ends
From the Super Bowl in February to the World Series in late October, a month-by-month map of the American sports year and the events that define it.
There is never really an off-season in American sports, just a handoff from one league to the next. Here is how the year usually lines up. Exact dates move a little every season, so treat these as typical windows.
Season windows at a glance
| League | Regular season | Postseason |
|---|---|---|
| NFL | Early September to early January | January; Super Bowl in early February |
| College football | Late August to early December | Bowls and the College Football Playoff, mid-December to January |
| NBA | Late October to mid-April | Play-in and playoffs, mid-April to June |
| NHL | Early October to mid-April | Stanley Cup Playoffs, mid-April to June |
| MLB | Late March to late September | October; the World Series runs into late October or early November |
| College basketball | Early November to early March | March Madness, mid-March to early April |
| MLS | Late February to October | MLS Cup Playoffs, October to early December |
| WNBA | May to September | September to October |
Fall: the busiest stretch
October is the most crowded month on the calendar. Football is in full swing at both levels, the NBA and NHL open their seasons and baseball plays its postseason. On a typical late-October night you can flip between a World Series game, an NBA opener and a Thursday night NFL matchup.
Winter: playoffs and the big game
January belongs to the NFL playoffs and college football's championship push. The Super Bowl arrives in early February, by which point the NBA and NHL are past the midway mark of their seasons.
Spring: March Madness and Opening Day
Selection Sunday in mid-March launches the NCAA tournaments, and the men's and women's Final Fours close them in early April. Baseball's Opening Day lands in late March, the NFL Draft is held in late April and the NBA and NHL playoffs begin mid-month. Golf's first major, the Masters, is played in April.
Summer: baseball's stage
The NBA Finals and Stanley Cup Final wrap up in June, followed by both leagues' drafts. MLB holds its All-Star Game in mid-July, the WNBA season is in full swing, golf finishes its majors with the U.S. Open in June and The Open in July, and NFL training camps open in late July.
Year-round
The UFC runs events nearly every week of the year, and Formula 1 races from early spring into December, with stops in Miami, Austin and Las Vegas.
Whatever is in season, our daily scoreboard and latest news follow it.
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