<P> Tennessee is home to three major professional sports franchises: the Tennessee Titans have played in the National Football League since 1997, the Memphis Grizzlies have played in the National Basketball Association since 2001, and the Nashville Predators have played in the National Hockey League since 1998 . A yet - to - be-named Major League Soccer franchise is scheduled to begin play in Nashville in 2020 . </P> <P> The state is also home to 14 teams playing in minor leagues . Nine Minor League Baseball teams call the state their home . The Memphis Redbirds and Nashville Sounds, each of the Pacific Coast League, compete at the Triple - A level, the highest before Major League Baseball . The Chattanooga Lookouts, Jackson Generals, and Tennessee Smokies play in the Double - A Southern League . The Elizabethton Twins, Greeneville Reds, Johnson City Cardinals, and Kingsport Mets are Rookie League teams of the Appalachian League . </P> <P> The Knoxville Ice Bears are a minor league ice hockey team of the Southern Professional Hockey League . Nashville SC plays in the United Soccer League . A Memphis team is set to join the USL in 2019 . Three soccer teams compete in the National Premier Soccer League: Chattanooga FC, the Knoxville Force, and Memphis City FC . </P> <P> In Knoxville, the Tennessee Volunteers college team has played in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association since the conference was formed in 1932 . The football team has won 13 SEC championships and 28 bowls, including four Sugar Bowls, three Cotton Bowls, an Orange Bowl and a Fiesta Bowl . Meanwhile, the men's basketball team has won four SEC championships and reached the NCAA Elite Eight in 2010 . In addition, the women's basketball team has won a host of SEC regular - season and tournament titles along with 8 national titles . </P>

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