State Sport - Ice Hockey
Ice Hockey was designated the state sport in 2009.
Ice hockey was named the official state sport of Minnesota in 2009.
Sen. Gen Olson first introduced a bill to designate hockey as the state sport in 2007 (SF2313). It was suggested by sixth-grade students at Minnetonka Middle School East, who spent months collecting more than 600 signatures in support of the proposal. Co-author Sen. David Tomassoni had ties to the sport; he played professional hockey in Italy for several seasons, and played on the Italian team in the 1984 Olympics. The House chief author was Rep. John Berns, along with fifteen co-authors. (HF3771) It was signed into law by another hockey fan, Governor Tim Pawlenty.