NYT Connections Sports Edition hints & answers: Saturday, September 12, 2026

Updated: Saturday, September 12, 2026 · Hints reviewed by Omer Liban · New puzzle daily at midnight local time — free from The Athletic. · Puzzle editor: Mark Cooper.

This page has every level of help for the NYT Connections Sports Edition puzzle of Saturday, September 12, 2026: 3 spoiler-free hint tiers that narrow things down step by step, followed by the complete answers with explanations — each behind its own tap-to-reveal card.

Stuck on today's Sports Edition? Same drill as regular Connections: work the tiers below from a single answer per group up to the full explained solution, revealing only as much as you want.

Connections: Sports Edition works exactly like regular Connections — four colour-coded groups from easiest 🟡 yellow to trickiest 🟣 purple — but every category is sports: players, teams, rules, moments. It's made by The Athletic and free to play.

Sports Connections hints (September 12, 2026)

1One answer from each group

Yellow (easiest): one of its answers is “SUNS”.
Green (easy): one of its answers is “CHAMPAIGN”.
Blue (tricky): one of its answers is “ARCH”.
Purple (trickiest, usually wordplay): one of its answers is “SUPERNOVAS”.

2Category hints (no answers)

Yellow (easiest): the theme is “Arizona pro teams”.
Green (easy): the theme is “Big ten school locations”.
Blue (tricky): the theme is “Manning family members”.
Purple (trickiest, usually wordplay): the theme is “Major league volleyball teams”.

3One full group revealed

Yellow (easiest) — the connection is “Arizona pro teams”, and its four answers are: SUNS, DIAMONDBACKS, CARDINALS, MERCURY.

Sports Connections answers — September 12, 2026

★Today's full Sports Connections answers, explained

Yellow (easiest) — the connection is “Arizona pro teams”. The answers: SUNS, DIAMONDBACKS, CARDINALS, MERCURY.
Green (easy) — the connection is “Big ten school locations”. The answers: CHAMPAIGN, COLUMBUS, PISCATAWAY, LINCOLN.
Blue (tricky) — the connection is “Manning family members”. The answers: ARCH, PEYTON, ELI, ARCHIE.
Purple (trickiest, usually wordplay) — the connection is “Major league volleyball teams”. The answers: SUPERNOVAS, PULSE, VIBE, VALKYRIES.

The puzzle, explained

The purple group is all Major League Volleyball teams, which is such a curveball because you're probably thinking football or basketball the whole time! PULSE had to feel like bait since it's an MLS soccer team (D.C. United's old stadium name), and ARCH could've easily tricked you into thinking it's part of the Manning family since Arch Manning is Peyton and Eli's nephew. SUPERNOVAS and VALKYRIES don't have obvious sports connections at first glance, so they're the hardest to spot as volleyball teams—VIBE especially since it sounds more like a general vibe than an actual team name, even though it's the San Francisco Volleyball Club's team.

Next in today's routine: Soccer Connections → · every game's answers on one page. New puzzle daily at midnight local time — free from The Athletic. Bookmark this page for tomorrow's hints. Or play Sports Connections on the official site.

More of today's puzzles

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Sports Connections — common questions

How is Connections Sports Edition different from regular Connections?

Same rules — sort sixteen answers into four colour-coded groups — but every category is sports: players, teams, rules, kits, moments. It's made by The Athletic (the NYT's sports newsroom), it's free, and it lives on The Athletic's site rather than the NYT Games app.

What time does Sports Connections reset?

At midnight in your own local timezone, like Wordle — not at midnight Eastern like regular Connections. Wherever you are, the new puzzle arrives when your clock strikes twelve.

What do the colours mean in Sports Connections?

The same difficulty ladder as regular Connections: yellow is the easiest group, then green, then blue, and purple is the trickiest — often wordplay or a sneaky link between the leftover answers.

Previous Sports Connections puzzles

Full Sports Connections archive (137 puzzles) → · How to play Connections: Sports Edition →