2000 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship
The 2000 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Tournament was the 30th annual Division I NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship tournament. Twelve NCAA Division I college men's lacrosse teams met after having played their way through a regular season, and for some, a conference tournament.


2000 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship
The championship game was played at Maryland's Byrd Stadium in front of 24,105 fans,  The game saw the Syracuse University defeat Princeton University by the score of 13–7. This marks the 7th victory in a national championship game for the Syracuse program.


2000 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament
The 2000 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament was the 41st organized men's college soccer tournament by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, to determine the top college soccer team in the United States. The Connecticut Huskies won their second national title by defeating the Creighton Blue Jays in the championship game, 2–0. The final match was played on December 10, 2000 in Charlotte, North Carolina at Ericsson Stadium for the second straight year. All other games were played at the home field of the higher seeded team.


2000 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships
The 2000 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships were contested in March 2000 at the University Aquatic Center at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota at the 77th annual NCAA-sanctioned swim meet to determine the team and individual national champions of Division I men's collegiate swimming and diving in the United States.


2000 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships
Along with 2004, this was one of two NCAA championship meets held on a short course meters (25 meters), rather than the NCAA's traditional short-course yards format (25 yards).


2000 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships
Texas topped the team standings, finishing 153 points ahead of Stanford.


2000 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championships
The 2000 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championships were the 54th annual championships to determine the national champions of NCAA Division I men's singles, doubles, and team collegiate tennis in the United States.


2000 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championships
Stanford defeated Virginia Commonwealth in the championship final, 4–0, to claim the Cardinal's seventeenth team national title.


2000 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championships, Host sites
This year's tournaments were played at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia.


2000 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championships, Host sites
The men's and women's tournaments would not be held at the same site until 2006.


2000 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships
The 2000 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships were the 79th NCAA Men's Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships and the 19th NCAA Women's Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Wallace Wade Stadium at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina from  May 31–June 3, 2000. In total, forty-two different men's and women's track and field events were contested.


2000 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament
The 2000 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament was the nineteenth annual tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA women's collegiate softball. Held during May 2000, forty-eight Division I college softball teams contested the championship. The tournament featured eight regionals of six teams, each in a double elimination format. The 2000 Women's College World Series was held in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma from May 25 through May 29 and marked the conclusion of the 2000 NCAA Division I softball season. Oklahoma won their first NCAA championship by defeating UCLA 3–1 in the final game. Oklahoma pitcher Jennifer Stewart was named Women's College World Series Most Outstanding Player.


2000 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament
The 2000 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament began on March 17 and ended on April 2. The tournament featured 64 teams. The Final Four consisted of Connecticut, Penn St., Tennessee, and Rutgers, with Connecticut defeating Tennessee 71-52 to win its second NCAA title. Connecticut's Shea Ralph was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.


2000 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Notable events
Two of the number one seeds advanced to the Final four—Tennessee and Connecticut—while two failed to advance. Penn State upset Louisiana Tech in the Midwest Regional, while Rutgers upset Georgia in the West Regional. Tennessee faced Rutgers in one of the Final Four match ups. At the end of the half, the Lady Vols held only a two-point lead 28–26. Pat Summitt challenged her players at halftime, and advised Tamika Catchings to move around more. That advice helped, as Catchings, who had only scored two points in the first half, scored eleven in the second half.


2000 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Notable events
Michelle Snow blocked seven shots in the game setting a Final Four record. Kara Lawson ran the offense, and scored a total of 19 points, of which 14 were scored in the second half, and ended up earning the Player of the Game award, helping her team win 64–54 and advance to the national championship.


2000 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Notable events
The other semifinal match up was Connecticut against Penn State. The regional win by Penn State gave the team a chance to play in a Final Four in their home state. The Lady Lions were led by point guard Helen Darling, who would go on to win the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award that year. However, the defense by the Huskies held Darling scoreless on this day. UConn's point guard Sue Bird, had a better day, scoring 19 points, hitting five of her seven three point attempts.


2000 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Notable events
20,060 fans were in the stands, the largest crowd ever to see a college basketball game in Pennsylvania. Connecticut had a nine-point lead at halftime, but Penn State had cut the lead to five points midway through the second half. However, the Huskies responded, and ended up winning the game by 22 points.


2000 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Notable events
The match up in the finals between Tennessee and Connecticut was highly anticipated. The teams have met ten times prior to this meeting, with each team winning five. In eight of the ten meetings, one of the teams has had a number one ranking in the country. Much has been at stake, not just rankings, but winning streaks, national championships and pride.


2000 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Notable events
Tennessee entered the final game on a 19-game winning streak; Connecticut on a 15-game winning streak, with their only loss of the season coming by a single point at the hands of Tennessee. UConn started the game with a 9–2 run. Kelly Schumacher set a record for blocks in a championship game, and had the record, with six, at halftime. She went on to record nine blocks, setting a new Final Four record, breaking the one established by Tennessee just two days before. The Huskies led 31–19 at the half, but the second half was yet to be played.


2000 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Notable events
Any chance of a comeback faded early, as UConn scored eight consecutive points to start the second half. Eight UConn players would get eleven or more minutes, giving Tennessee the impression that they were seeing fresh players every few minutes. Shea Ralph would score 15 points, on her way to winning the Most Outstanding Player award, and Svetlana Abrosimova scored 14. Connecticut ultimately defeated Tennessee by a score of 71–52 to win their second national championship.


2000 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Notable events
The 2000 Final Four, played at the then-First Union Center (now Wells Fargo Center) in Philadelphia, was notable for featuring three head coaches who had ties to the Philadelphia area: Penn State coach Rene Portland grew up in the Philadelphia area, played at Immaculata College (now Immaculata University) in suburban Philadelphia, and briefly coached at St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia; Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer coached at then-Cheyney State College (now Cheyney University) in suburban Philadelphia earlier in her career, and national championship-winning Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma spent most of his childhood living in Norristown, Pennsylvania, located approximately 20 miles from Philadelphia, and served as a high school and college assistant coach in the Philadelphia area early in his coaching career.


2000 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Qualifying teams – automatic
Sixty-four teams were selected to participate in the 2000 NCAA Tournament. Thirty conferences were eligible for an automatic bid to the 2000 NCAA tournament.


2000 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Qualifying teams – at-large
Thirty-four additional teams were selected to complete the sixty-four invitations.


2000 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Bids by conference
Thirty conferences earned an automatic bid. In fifteen cases, the automatic bid was the only representative from the conference. Thirty-four additional at-large teams were selected from fifteen of the conferences.


2000 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, First and second rounds
In 2000, the field remained at 64 teams. The teams were seeded, and assigned to four geographic regions, with seeds 1-16 in each region. In Round 1, seeds 1 and 16 faced each other, as well as seeds 2 and 15, seeds 3 and 14, seeds 4 and 13, seeds 5 and 12, seeds 6 and 11, seeds 7 and 10, and seeds 8 and 9. In the first two rounds, the top four seeds were given the opportunity to host the first-round game. In most cases, the higher seed accepted the opportunity. The exception:


2000 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, First and second rounds
The following table lists the region, host school, venue and the sixteen first- and second-round locations:


2000 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Regionals and Final Four
The Regionals, named for the general location, were held from March 25 to March 27 at these sites:


2000 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Regionals and Final Four
Each regional winner advanced to the Final Four held March 31 and April 2 in Philadelphia at the Wells Fargo Center (Philadelphia) (Co-hosts: St. Joseph's University and University of Pennsylvania)


2000 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Bids by state
The sixty-four teams came from thirty-three states, plus Washington, D.C. Two states, California and Texas, had the most teams with five bids. Seventeen states did not have any teams receiving bids.


2000 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Record by conference
Seventeen conferences had more than one bid, or at least one win in NCAA Tournament play:


2000 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Record by conference
Thirteen conferences went 0-1: Big Sky Conference, Big South Conference, Big West Conference, Horizon League, Ivy League, MAC, Mid-Continent, MEAC, Ohio Valley Conference, Patriot League, Southern Conference, SWAC, and Trans America


2000 NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championship
The 2000 NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championships were contested at the 19th annual NCAA-sanctioned golf tournament to determine the individual and team national champions of women's Division I collegiate golf in the United States.


2000 NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championship
The tournament was held at the Trysting Tree Golf Course in Corvallis, Oregon.


2000 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship
The 2000 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship was the 19th annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of Division I NCAA women's college lacrosse. The championship game was played at Lions Stadium in Trenton, New Jersey during May 2000. All NCAA Division I women's lacrosse programs were eligible for this championship. Ultimately, 12 teams were invited to the tournament.


2000 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship
Maryland defeated Princeton, 16–8, to win their eighth overall and sixth consecutive, national championship. This would subsequently become the sixth of Maryland's record seven straight national titles (1995–2001).


2000 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship
For the second consecutive year, the leading scorer for the tournament was Jen Adams from Maryland, with 22 goals. Adams was also again named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.


2000 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament
The 2000 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament (also known as the 2000 Women's College Cup) was the 19th annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA Division I women's collegiate soccer. The semifinals and championship game were played at Spartan Stadium in San Jose, California during December 2000.


2000 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament
North Carolina defeated UCLA in the final, 2–1, to win their sixteenth, and second straight, national title. The Tar Heels (21–3) were coached by Anson Dorrance.


2000 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament
The Most Outstanding Offensive Player was Meredith Florance from North Carolina, and the Most Outstanding Defensive Player was Catherine Reddick, also from North Carolina. Florance and Reddick, along with eleven other players, were named to the All-Tournament Team. Florance was also the tournament's leading scorer (4 goals).


2000 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament, Qualification
All Division I women's soccer programs were eligible to qualify for the tournament. The tournament field remained fixed at 48 teams although it would expand to its current size, 64 teams, the following year.


2000 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament, Qualification, Format
Just as before, the final two rounds, deemed the Women's College Cup were played at a pre-determined neutral site. All other rounds were played on campus sites at the home field of the higher-seeded team. The top sixteen teams were given a bye to the Second Round while the remaining thirty-two teams played in the preliminary First Round.


2000 NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships
The 2000 NCAA Women's Division I Swimming and Diving Championships were contested at the 19th annual NCAA-sanctioned swim meet to determine the team and individual national champions of Division I women's collegiate swimming and diving in the United States.


2000 NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships
This year's events were hosted at the Indiana University Natatorium in Indianapolis, Indiana.


2000 NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships
Georgia again finished atop the team standings, 18.5 points ahead of Arizona; it was the Bulldogs' second consecutive and second overall women's team title.


2000 NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championships
The 2000 NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championships were the 19th annual championships to determine the national champions of NCAA Division I women's singles, doubles, and team collegiate tennis in the United States.


2000 NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championships
Georgia defeated defending champions Stanford in the team final, 5–4, to claim their second national title.


2000 NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championships, Host
This year's tournaments were hosted by Pepperdine University at the Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center in Malibu, California. This was the Waves' second time hosting the women's championships.


2000 NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championships, Host
The men's and women's NCAA tennis championships would not be held jointly until 2006.


2000 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament
The 2000 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament began on November 30, 2000 with 64 teams and ended December 16 when Nebraska defeated Wisconsin 3 games to 2 in Richmond, Virginia for the program's second NCAA title.


2000 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament
Nebraska became the second team in NCAA history to finish the season undefeated, as they joined Long Beach State from 1998 to pull off the feat. The win gave John Cook his first national title in just his first year as Nebraska's head coach. Wisconsin, for whom Cook was the previous head coach, made the program's first Final Four appearance.


2000 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament
This was the last season that the NCAA used side out scoring, switching to rally scoring in 2001.


2000 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament, Records
For the third straight year, the tournament field remained fixed at 64 teams. The Big Ten, Big 12, and Pac-10 tied for the most bids in the 2000 NCAA Tournament with six bids each. The top six seeds each came from different conferences, the only such instance of this in the 64-team era. Nebraska went undefeated en route to a national championship, joining 1998 Long Beach State and later teams 2003 USC and 2008-09 Penn State as undefeated national champions.


2000 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament, National Semifinals, Nebraska vs. Hawaiʻi
Aided by 23 team blocks, top seeded Nebraska cruised past Hawaiʻi in four sets. Nebraska junior Jenny Kropp had 16 kills to lead the way for the Huskers. Sophomore outside hitter Lily Kahumoku led Hawaiʻi with 18 kills, while freshman Kim Willoughby had 15.


2000 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament, National Semifinals, Wisconsin vs. Southern California
Appearing in  the program's first ever Final Four, Wisconsin swept USC to earn a spot in the title match against Nebraska.


2000 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament, National Championship: Nebraska vs. Wisconsin
Nebraska jumped on top to start out the match, with a block giving NU the first game, 15-9. In the second game, Wisconsin raced out to the 13-4 lead before winning, 15-9, to tie the match at one game a piece.


2000 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament, National Championship: Nebraska vs. Wisconsin
Leading 5-4 in the third game, Wisconsin pulled away by winning eight straight points to go up 13-4. Nebraska responded with three straight points of their own to cut the lead to 13-7, before two Badger kills ended the game, 15-7, to put the Badgers up 2-1 on the undefeated Huskers.


2000 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament, National Championship: Nebraska vs. Wisconsin
Nebraska responded strongly in set 4, crushing the Badgers, 15-2, to force a fifth game. In the decisive fifth game, Nebraska raced out to the 4-0 lead. Nebraska continued to roll, going up 11-5. Nebraska earned championship point on a kill, before Laura Pilakowski crushed her 23rd kill of the match to seal the victory.


2000 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament, National Championship: Nebraska vs. Wisconsin
The national title capped a season in which the Huskers achieved much success. The Huskers became just the second team in NCAA history to finish the season undefeated with a national title, joining the 1998 Long Beach State squad. Nebraska, ranked No. 1 in the AVCA/USA Today Coaches poll for 14 straight weeks, swept 26 of its 33 opponents in 2000. It was Nebraska head coach John Cook's first season with the program. Cook was previously the head coach at Wisconsin.


2000 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament, NCAA Tournament records
There are three NCAA tournament record that were set in the 2000 tournament that still stands.


2000 NCAA Division I baseball rankings
The following polls make up the 2000 NCAA Division I baseball rankings. USA Today and ESPN began publishing the Coaches' Poll of 31 active coaches ranking the top 25 teams in the nation in 1992. Each coach is a member of the American Baseball Coaches Association. Baseball America began publishing its poll of the top 20 teams in college baseball in 1981. Beginning with the 1985 season, it expanded to the top 25. Collegiate Baseball Newspaper published its first human poll of the top 20 teams in college baseball in 1957, and expanded to rank the top 30 teams in 1961.


2000 NCAA Division I baseball rankings, USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Poll
Currently, only the final poll from the 2000 season is available.


2000 NCAA Division I baseball rankings, Baseball America
Currently, only the final poll from the 2000 season is available.


2000 NCAA Division I baseball rankings, Collegiate Baseball
The pre-season poll ranked the top 40 teams. Those not listed in the table above were: 31. Wake Forest; 32. Arkansas; 33. Nevada; 34. South Carolina; 35. Illinois; 36. Florida Atlantic; 37. Ohio State; 38. California; 39. Nebraska; 40. Ole Miss


2000 NCAA Division I baseball season
The 2000 NCAA Division I baseball season, play of college baseball in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) began in the spring of 2000. The season progressed through the regular season and concluded with the 2000 College World Series. The College World Series, held for the fifty fourth time in 2000, consisted of one team from each of eight super regional competitions and was held in Omaha, Nebraska at Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium as a double-elimination tournament. LSU claimed the championship for the fifth time.


2000 NCAA Division I baseball season, Conference winners
This is a partial list of conference champions from the 2000 season. The NCAA sponsored regional and super regional competitions to determine the College World Series participants. Each of the sixteen regionals consisted of four teams competing in double-elimination tournaments, with the winners advancing to eight best of three Super Regionals. The winners of each Super Regional advanced to Omaha. 29 teams earned automatic bids by winning their conference championship while 35 teams earned at-large selections.


2000 NCAA Division I baseball season, College World Series
The 2000 season marked the fifty fourth NCAA Baseball Tournament, which culminated with the eight team College World Series. The College World Series was held in Omaha, Nebraska. The eight teams played a double-elimination format, with LSU claiming their fifth championship with a 6–5 win over Stanford in the final.


2000 NCAA Division I softball season
The 2000 NCAA Division I softball season, play of college softball in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I level, began in February 2000. The season progressed through the regular season, many conference tournaments and championship series, and concluded with the 2000 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament and 2000 Women's College World Series. The Women's College World Series, consisting of the eight remaining teams in the NCAA Tournament and held in Oklahoma City at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium, ended on May 29, 2000.


2000 NCAA Division I softball season, Women's College World Series
The 2000 NCAA Women's College World Series took place from May 25 to May 29, 2000 in Oklahoma City.


2000 NCAA Division I softball season, Records
NCAA Division I season wins:52 – Courtney Blades, Southern Miss Golden Eagles


2000 NCAA Division I softball season, Records
NCAA Division I season hit by pitch:44 – Cheryl Wyrick, Liberty Lady Flames


2000 NCAA Division I softball season, Records
NCAA Division I season putouts:765 – Kenya Peters, Southern Miss Golden Eagles


2000 NCAA Division I-A football rankings
Two human polls and one formulaic ranking make up the 2000 NCAA Division I-A football rankings. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), does not bestow a National Championship title for Division I-A football. That title is primarily bestowed by different polling agencies. There are several polls that currently exist. The main weekly polls are the AP Poll and Coaches Poll. About halfway through the season the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) Standings are released.


2000 NCAA Division I-A football rankings, BCS Standings
The Bowl Championship Series determined the two teams that competed in the BCS National Championship Game, the 2001 Orange Bowl.


2000 NCAA Division I-A football season
The 2000 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with the Oklahoma Sooners claiming their first national championship and their first conference championship since the departure of head coach Barry Switzer.


2000 NCAA Division I-A football season
Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops was in his second season as head coach, having been the defensive coordinator of Steve Spurrier's 1996 National Champion Florida Gators, and also having helped Bill Snyder turn the Kansas State Wildcats around in the early 1990s. Stoops erased a three-game losing streak against rival Texas by a score of 63–14, one of the worst defeats in Texas' football history. Despite the lopsided victory, this game marked a return of the Red River Shootout to a rivalry game with national title implications.


2000 NCAA Division I-A football season
The BCS title game was not without controversy, as the system shut fourth-ranked Washington out of the championship game, despite being the only team who had beaten each No. 2 Miami and No. 5 Oregon State and having the same 10–1 record as No. 3 Florida State during the regular season. 10–1 Miami, who handed No. 3 Florida State their only loss, was ranked higher in both the AP Writers' Poll and the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll, and had the same record as the Seminoles, was also seen as a possible title contender.


2000 NCAA Division I-A football season
Virginia Tech also was left out of the BCS bowls, despite being ranked higher than one of the at-large teams, Notre Dame.


2000 NCAA Division I-A football season
The South Carolina Gamecocks broke a 21-game losing streak, stretching back into 1998, to go 8–4 including a win over Ohio State in the Outback Bowl.


2000 NCAA Division I-A football season
Two new bowl games began in the 2000 season: the Silicon Valley Bowl, which had a contractual tie-in with the WAC, and the Galleryfurniture.com Bowl.


2000 NCAA Division I-A football season, Rules changes
The following rules changes were passed by the NCAA Rules Committee in 2000:


2000 NCAA Division I-A football season, Conference and program changes
Two teams upgraded from Division I-AA, thus increasing the number of Division I-A schools from 114 to 116.


2000 NCAA Division I-A football season, Regular season top 10 matchups
Rankings reflect the AP Poll. Rankings for Week 9 and beyond will list BCS Rankings first and AP Poll second. Teams that failed to be a top 10 team for one poll or the other will be noted.


2000 NCAA Division I-A football season, Heisman Trophy voting
The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award is given to the Most Outstanding Player of the year.


2000 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game
The 2000 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Georgia Southern Eagles and the Montana Grizzlies. The game was played on December 16, 2000, at Finley Stadium, home field of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. The culminating game of the 2000 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Georgia Southern, 27–25.


2000 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game, Teams
The participants of the Championship Game were the finalists of the 2000 I-AA Playoffs, which began with a 16-team bracket.


2000 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game, Teams, Montana Grizzlies
Montana finished their regular season with a 10–1 record (8–0 in conference); their only loss had been to Hofstra, 10–9, in the season opener. Seeded first in the playoffs, the Grizzlies defeated 16-seed Eastern Illinois, eight-seed Richmond, and 13-seed Appalachian State to reach the final. This was the third appearance for Montana in a Division I-AA championship game, having won in 1995 and having lost in 1996.


2000 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game, Teams, Georgia Southern Eagles
Georgia Southern finished their regular season with a 9–2 record (7–1 in conference); one of their losses had been to Georgia of Division I-A. The Eagles, seeded third, defeated 14-seed McNeese State, 11-seed Hofstra, and second-seed Delaware to reach the final. This was the eighth appearance for Georgia Southern in a Division I-AA championship game, having five prior wins (1985, 1986, 1989, 1990, 1999) and two prior losses (1988, 1998).


2000 NCAA Division I-AA football rankings
The 2000 NCAA Division I-AA football rankings are from the Sports Network poll of Division I-AA head coaches, athletic directors, sports information directors and media members. This is for the 2000 season.


2000 NCAA Division I-AA football season
The 2000 NCAA Division I-AA football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I-AA level, began in August 2000, and concluded with the 2000 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 16, 2000, at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Georgia Southern Eagles won their sixth I-AA championship, defeating the Montana Grizzlies by a score of 27–25.


2000 NCAA Division I-AA football season, Conference champions
Atlantic 10 Conference – Delaware and RichmondBig Sky Conference – MontanaGateway Football Conference – Western IllinoisIvy League – PennMetro Atlantic Athletic Conference – DuquesneMid-Eastern Athletic Conference – Florida A&MNortheast Conference – Robert MorrisOhio Valley Conference – Western KentuckyPatriot League – LehighPioneer Football League – Dayton and  ValparaisoSouthern Conference – Georgia SouthernSouthland Football League – Troy StateSouthwestern Athletic Conference – Grambling State


2000 NCAA Division I-AA football season, Postseason, NCAA Division I-AA playoff bracket
* By team name denotes host institution* By score denotes overtimeSource:


2000 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2000 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament was the 44th annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division II college basketball in the United States.


2000 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament
Officially culminating the 1999–2000 NCAA Division II men's basketball season, the tournament featured forty-eight teams from around the country.


2000 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament
The Elite Eight, national semifinals, and championship were again played at the Commonwealth Convention Center in Louisville, Kentucky.


2000 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament
In a rematch of the previous year's final, Metro State (33–4) defeated defending champions Kentucky Wesleyan, 97–79, to win their first Division II national championship.


2000 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament
The Roadrunners were coached by Mike Dunlap. Metro State's DeMarcos Anzures was the Most Outstanding Player.


2000 NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship
The 2000 NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship was the 29th annual tournament held by the NCAA to determine the top men's Division II college soccer program in the United States.


2000 NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship
Cal State Dominguez Hills (23-1-1) defeated hosts Barry, 2–1, in the tournament final, after four overtime periods.


2000 NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship
This was the first national title for the Toros, who were coached by Joe Flanagan.


2000 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament
The 2000 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament was the 19th annual tournament hosted by the NCAA to determine the national champion of Division II women's  collegiate basketball in the United States.


2000 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament
Northern Kentucky defeated North Dakota State in the championship game, 71–62 (after one overtime), to claim the Norse's first NCAA Division II national title.


2000 NCAA Division II football rankings
The 2000 NCAA Division II football rankings are from the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA). For the preseason and the first 3 weeks of the season, the poll consisted of 25 teams. Starting with week 4 of the season, the poll was segregated into four regions, with 10 teams ranked in each region. 2000 was the only year this regional poll was attempted. In 2001, the AFCA went back to a "Top 25" nationally.


2000 NCAA Division II football season
The 2000 NCAA Division II football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division II level, began on September 2, 2000, and concluded with the NCAA Division II Football Championship on December 9, 2000 at Braly Municipal Stadium in Florence, Alabama, hosted by the University of North Alabama. The Delta State Statesmen defeated the Bloomsburg Huskies, 63–34, to win their first Division II national title.


2000 NCAA Division II football season
The Harlon Hill Trophy was awarded to Dusty Bonner, quarterback from Valdosta State.


2000 NCAA Division II football season, Conference summaries
Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Winston-Salem StateColumbia Football Association – Central Washington and Western WashingtonEastern Collegiate Football Conference – American InternationalGreat Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Saginaw Valley State and NorthwoodGulf South Conference – Delta State , Valdosta State, and West GeorgiaLone Star Conference – Northeastern StateMid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association – Northwest Missouri StateNorth Central Conference – Nebraska–OmahaNorthern Sun Intercollegiate Conference – Winona StatePennsylvania State Athletic Conference – Bloomsburg (East), Clarion, Indiana (PA), and Slippery Rock (West)Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference – Colorado MesaSouth Atlantic Conference – CatawbaSouthern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – TuskegeeWest Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Fairmont State and West Liberty


2000 NCAA Division II football season, Postseason
The 2000 NCAA Division II Football Championship playoffs were the 27th single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division II college football. The championship game was held at Braly Municipal Stadium in Florence, Alabama for the 14th time.


2000 NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament
The 2000 NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament was played at the end of the 2000 NCAA Division III baseball season to determine the 25th national champion of college baseball at the NCAA Division III level. The tournament concluded with eight teams competing at a new location at Fox Cities Stadium in Grand Chute, Wisconsin for the championship. Eight regional tournaments were held to determine the participants in the World Series. Regional tournaments were contested in double-elimination format, five four regions consisting of six teams and three regions consisting of four teams, for a total of 42 teams participating in the tournament, up from 40 in 1999. The tournament champion was Montclair State, who defeated St. Thomas for the championship.


2000 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2000 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament was the 26th annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champions of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men's Division III collegiate basketball in the United States.


2000 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament
The field contained sixty-four teams, and each program was allocated to one of four sectionals. All sectional games were played on campus sites, while the national semifinals, third-place final, and championship finals were contested at the Salem Civic Center in Salem, Virginia.


2000 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament
Calvin defeated Wisconsin–Eau Claire, 79–74, in the championship, clinching a second national title.


2000 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament
The Knights (31–1) were coached by Kevin Vande Streek. Calvin's prior championship came in 1992.


2000 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament
Sherm Carstensen of Wisconsin-Eau Claire was named Most Outstanding Player after scoring 34 points in the semifinal and 36 in the championship game.


2000 NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
The 2000 NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the culmination of the 1999–00 season, the 17th such tournament in NCAA history. It concluded with Norwich defeating St. Thomas in the championship game 2-1. All Quarterfinals matchups were held at home team venues, while all succeeding games were played in Superior, Wisconsin.


2000 NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
The NCAA began offering automatic bids to conference tournament champions for the first time. Seven of the eight existing conferences received automatic bids with only the MCHA not included. This was because the MCHA had a Division II program who participated in their conference tournament; both ECAC East and ECAC Northeast had Division II members as well but none of those team participated in their respective conference tournaments. This allowed the results to be certified as Division III.


2000 NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
With the NESCAC now sponsoring ice hockey as a sport and holding an individual conference tournament, the conference rules limiting member schools to only one postseason tournament were dropped.


2000 NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
Despite being in Division III since 1973, ECAC Northeast received its first entry into the national tournament.


2000 NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Qualifying teams
The following teams qualified for the tournament. Automatic bids were offered to the conference tournament champion of seven different conferences with one at-large bid for the best remaining team. No formal seeding was used while quarterfinal matches were arranged so that the road teams would have the shortest possible travel distances.


2000 NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Format
The tournament featured three rounds of play. In the Quarterfinals, teams played a two-game series where the first team to reach 3 points was declared a winner (2 points for winning a game, 1 point each for tying). If both teams ended up with 2 points after the first two games a 20-minute mini-game used to determine a winner. Mini-game scores are in italics. Beginning with the Semifinals all games became Single-game eliminations. The winning teams in the semifinals advanced to the National Championship Game with the losers playing in a Third Place game. The teams were seeded according to geographic proximity in the quarterfinals so the visiting team would have the shortest feasible distance to travel.


2000 NCAA Division III football season
The 2000 NCAA Division III football season, part of the college football season organized by the NCAA at the Division III level in the United States, began in August 2000, and concluded with the NCAA Division III Football Championship, also known as the Stagg Bowl, in December 2000 at Salem Football Stadium in Salem, Virginia. The Mount Union Purple Raiders won their fifth Division III championship by defeating the Saint John's (MN) Johnnies, 10−7.


2000 NCAA Division III football season
The Gagliardi Trophy, given to the most outstanding player in Division III football, was awarded to Chad Johnson, quarterback from Pacific Lutheran.


2000 NCAA Division III football season, Postseason
The 2000 NCAA Division III Football Championship playoffs were the 28th annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division III college football. The championship Stagg Bowl game was held at Salem Football Stadium in Salem, Virginia for the eighth time. This was the second bracket to feature 28 teams since last expanding in 1999.


2000 NCAA Division III football season, Final AFCA Top 25 Poll
Others receiving votes: Wesley, 86; Hobart, 78; Thomas More, 76; Montclair St., 74; Hope, 65; Rowan, 44; Aurora, 34; Ripon, 20; Emory & Henry, 20; Middlebury, 14; Amherst, 11; Bridgewater St., 9; Wheaton, 8; Lycoming, 4; Augustana, 2.


2000 NCAA Division III football season, Awards
AFCA Regional Coach of the Year: Region 1: Mike DeLong, Springfield Region 2: Bill Zwaan, Widener Region 3: Pete Fredenburg, Mary Hardin-Baylor Region 4: Larry Kehres, Mount Union Region 5: Ed Meierkort, Wisconsin-Stout


2000 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans
The Consensus 2000 College Basketball All-American team, as determined by aggregating the results of four major All-American teams. To earn "consensus" status, a player must win honors from a majority of the following teams: the Associated Press, the USBWA, The Sporting News and the National Association of Basketball Coaches.


2000 NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament
The 2000 NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament was the 31st annual tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA men's collegiate indoor volleyball. The single elimination tournament was played at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana during May 2000.


2000 NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament
UCLA defeated Ohio State in the final match, 3–0 (15–8, 15–10, 17–15), to win their eighteenth national title. The Bruins (29–5) were coached by Al Scates.


2000 NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament
UCLA's Brandon Taliaferro was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Taliaferro, along with five other players, comprised the All-Tournament Team.


2000 NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament, Qualification
Until the creation of the NCAA Men's Division III Volleyball Championship in 2012, there was only a single national championship for men's volleyball. As such, all NCAA men's volleyball programs, whether from Division I, Division II, or Division III, were eligible. A total of 4 teams were invited to contest this championship.


2000 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship
The 2000 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship was the 32nd annual NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship to determine the national champion of NCAA men's collegiate water polo. Tournament matches were played at Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool in Malibu, California during December 2000.


2000 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship
UCLA defeated UC San Diego in the final, 11–2, to win their seventh, and second consecutive, national title. The Bruins (19–7) were coached by Guy Baker and Adam Krikorian.


2000 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship
The Most Outstanding Player of the tournament was Sean Kern from UCLA. Kern, along with seven other players, comprised the All-Tournament Team.


2000 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship
Ivan Babic, from USC, was the tournament's leading scorer, with 9 goals.


2000 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship, Qualification
Since there has only ever been one single national championship for water polo, all NCAA men's water polo programs (whether from Division I, Division II, or Division III) were eligible. A total of 4 teams were invited to contest this championship.


2000 NCAA Rifle Championships
The 2000 NCAA Rifle Championships were contested at the 21st annual NCAA-sanctioned competition to determine the team and individual national champions of co-ed collegiate rifle shooting in the United States. The championship was hosted by the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia.


2000 NCAA Rifle Championships
Defending champions Alaska again topped the team standings, finishing 139 points (6,285–6,156) points ahead of Xavier. This was the Nanooks' second consecutive and third overall team title. This event was also notable for being the first time West Virginia finished outside of the top three.


2000 NCAA Rifle Championships
The individual championships went to Nicole Allaire (Nebraska) for the smallbore rifle and Kelly Mansfield (Alaska) for the air rifle. This was Mansfield's second consecutive air rifle title.


2000 NCAA Rifle Championships, Qualification
With only one national collegiate championship for rifle shooting, all NCAA rifle programs (whether from Division I, Division II, or Division III) were eligible. A total of nine teams contested this championship.


2000 NCAA Skiing Championships
The 2000 NCAA Skiing Championships were contested at the Park City Mountain Resort in Park City, Utah as the 47th annual NCAA-sanctioned ski tournament to determine the individual and team national champions of men's and women's collegiate slalom and cross country skiing in the United States.


2000 NCAA Skiing Championships
Denver, coached by Kurt Smitz, won the team championship, the Pioneers' first co-ed title and fifteenth overall.


2000 NCAA Skiing Championships, Venue
The championships were held at the Park City Mountain Resort in Park City, Utah.


2000 NCAA Skiing Championships, Venue
These were the fifth championships held in the state of Utah (previously 1957, 1963, 1981, and 1991).


2000 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championship
The 2000 NCAA Women's Gymnastics championship involved 12 schools competing for the national championship of women's NCAA Division I gymnastics. It was the nineteenth NCAA gymnastics national championship and the defending NCAA Team Champion for 1998 was Georgia. The competition took place in Boise, Idaho, hosted by Boise State University in the BSU Pavilion. The 2000 Team Champions were the UCLA Bruins. For the individual championship, Heather Brink, Nebraska, 39.625, and Mohini Bhardwaj, UCLA, 39.625 shared the title.


2000 NECBL season
The 2000 NECBL season was the seventh season of the New England Collegiate Baseball League. The league added a franchise in Manchester, Connecticut, the Manchester Silkworms, along with a franchise in Lowell, Massachusetts, the Mill City All-Americans. The league lost its Leominster, Massachusetts franchise, the Central Mass Collegians and its West Warwick, Rhode Island franchise, the Rhode Island Reds.


2000 NECBL season
In the semifinal playoff rounds, Rhode Island defeated Mill City 2-1, and Keene defeated Middletown 2-1. In the championship round, Keene defeated Rhode Island 2-1 to win the franchise's first NECBL championship.


2000 NFL Draft
The 2000 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur U.S. college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 15–16, 2000, at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. No teams chose to claim any players in the supplemental draft that year.


2000 NFL Draft
The draft started with Penn State teammates Courtney Brown and LaVar Arrington being selected consecutively, making them the only Penn State players to go number one and two in the same draft. The New York Jets had four first-round draft picks, the most by any team in the history of the draft (17 teams have had three picks but no other has had four).


2000 NFL Draft
The draft was notable for the selection of Michigan quarterback Tom Brady at the 199th pick in the sixth round by the New England Patriots. In his twenty seasons as a starter, Brady has won three NFL MVP awards, a record seven Super Bowl titles and five Super Bowl MVPs. As a result of his late selection and subsequent success, Brady is considered to be the biggest steal in the history of the NFL draft, and is widely considered the greatest quarterback of all time. It was also the first year since 1966 that a pure placekicker was drafted in the first round, with the Oakland Raiders selecting Florida State's Sebastian Janikowski 17th overall. The University of Tennessee led all colleges with nine selections in the 2000 NFL draft.


2000 NFL Draft
As of 2021, the last remaining active player from this draft is Tom Brady.


2000 NFL Draft, Trades
In the explanations below, (D) denotes trades that took place during the 2000 Draft, while (PD) indicates trades completed pre-draft.


2000 NFL Europe season
The 2000 NFL Europe season was the 8th season in 10 years of the American Football league that started out as the World League of American Football.


2000 NFL season
The 2000 NFL season was the 81st regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XXXV when the Baltimore Ravens defeated the New York Giants, 34–7, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.


2000 NFL season
Week 1 of the season reverted to Labor Day weekend in 2000. It would be the last NFL season to date to start on Labor Day weekend. It would also be the last time until 2015 that CBS televised the late afternoon games in Week 1, because both Week 1 of the NFL season and CBS's coverage of the U.S. Open tennis finals would take place on the same day beginning next season.


2000 NFL season, Player movement, Draft
The 2000 NFL Draft was held from April 15 to 16, 2000 at New York City's Theater at Madison Square Garden. With the first pick, the Cleveland Browns selected defensive end Courtney Brown from Pennsylvania State University. Taken by the New England Patriots with the 199th pick in the sixth round was Michigan quarterback Tom Brady. Tom Brady went on to win 3 NFL MVP awards, a record 7 Super Bowl titles and 5 Super Bowl MVP awards.


2000 NFL season, Regular season, Scheduling formula
Inter-conferenceAFC East vs NFC CentralAFC Central vs NFC EastAFC West vs NFC West


2000 NFL season, Milestones
The following teams and players set all-time NFL records during the season:


2000 NHK Trophy
The 2000 NHK Trophy was the final event of six in the 2000–01 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Asahikawa Taisetsu Ice Arena in Asahikawa on November 30 – December 3. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. Skaters earned points toward qualifying for the 2000–01 Grand Prix Final. The compulsory dance was the Rhumba.


2000 NHL Entry Draft
The 2000 NHL Entry Draft was the 38th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 24 and 25, 2000 at the Pengrowth Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, following the 2000 NHL Expansion Draft on June 23 for the Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild. This was the second NHL Entry Draft in which a goaltender was taken first overall (at that point), when the New York Islanders selected Rick DiPietro with the first overall pick. Previously, Michel Plasse was selected 1st overall in the 1968 NHL Amateur Draft.


2000 NHL Entry Draft, Selections by round
Club teams are located in North America unless otherwise noted.


2000 NHL Expansion Draft
The 2000 NHL Expansion Draft was held on June 23, 2000, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The draft took place to fill the rosters of the league's two expansion teams for the 2000–01 season, the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Minnesota Wild.


2000 NHL Expansion Draft, Rules
26 of the 28 teams existing in the league at the time of the draft were each allowed to protect either one goaltender, five defensemen, and nine forwards or two goaltenders, three defensemen, and seven forwards. The Atlanta Thrashers and Nashville Predators had their entire rosters protected, as they were the two newest franchises in the league, only being in existence for one and two years respectively.


2000 NHL Expansion Draft, Rules
For teams protecting only one goaltender, there was no experience requirement for those left unprotected. For teams protecting two goaltenders, each goaltender left unprotected must have appeared in either 10 NHL games in the 1999–2000 season or 25 games in the 1998–99 season and 1999–2000 seasons combined. A goaltender had to be in net for at least 31 minutes in each game for the game to be counted against these totals.


2000 NHL Expansion Draft, Rules
At least one defenseman left unprotected by each team had to have appeared in at least 40 games in the 1999–2000 season or 70 games in the 1998–99 season and 1999–2000 seasons combined. At least two forwards left unprotected by each team had to have met the same requirements.


2000 NHL Expansion Draft, Rules
Fifty-two players were chosen in the draft; each previously existing team lost two players, and both expansion teams filled a roster of twenty-six players. Only one goaltender or one defenseman could be selected from each franchise. Both the Blue Jackets and the Wild were to use their first 24 selections on three goaltenders, eight defensemen, and thirteen forwards. The final two picks for each team could be any position.


2000 NHL Expansion Draft, Deals
In return for agreeing not to select certain unprotected players, the Blue Jackets and Wild were granted concessions by other franchises. The trades not involving Blue Jacket or Wild draft picks were booked as being for "future considerations":


2000 NHL Expansion Draft, Post-draft
Several of the players selected by the Blue Jackets and Wild in the Expansion Draft did not stay with the teams long after the draft. In fact, several players were traded later in the same day:


2000 NHL Expansion Draft, Post-draft
Other players who were no longer on the rosters of the teams which drafted them for the 1999–2000 season include the following:


2000 NLL season
The 2000 National Lacrosse League season is the 14th season in the NLL that began on January 7, 2000 and concluded with the championship game on May 6, 2000. The Toronto Rock defeated the Rochester Knighthawks 14-13. Kaleb Toth scored the winning goal with less than two seconds left in regulation to give the Rock their second straight championship.


2000 NLL season, Team movement
One expansion team was added to the NLL for the 2000 season, the Albany Attack. In addition, the Baltimore Thunder left Baltimore and became the Pittsburgh CrosseFire, though the franchise would only last a single season in Pittsburgh before moving to Washington.


2000 NLL season, Regular season
x: Clinched playoff berth; c: Clinched playoff berth by crossing over to another division; y: Clinched division; z: Clinched best regular season record; GP: Games PlayedW: Wins; L: Losses; GB: Games back; PCT: Win percentage; Home: Record at Home; Road: Record on the Road; GF: Goals scored; GA: Goals allowedDifferential: Difference between goals scored and allowed; GF/GP: Average number of goals scored per game; GA/GP: Average number of goals allowed per game


2000 NLL season, Awards, Weekly awards
Each week, a player is awarded "Player of the Week" honours.


2000 NLL season, Awards, Monthly awards
Awards are also given out monthly for the best overall player and best rookie.


2000 NLL season, Statistics leaders
Bold numbers indicate new single-season records. Italics indicate tied single-season records.


2000 NRL Grand Final
The 2000 NRL grand final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 2000 NRL season. It was contested by the Brisbane Broncos, who had finished the season in 1st place, and the Sydney Roosters, who had finished the season in 2nd place. The Brisbane Broncos were favourites heading into the grand final with the Sydney Roosters as underdogs. Brisbane were premiership favourites for most of the season after leading the competition every round since Round 4. It was their fifth Grand Final appearance in nine years, while it was the first for the Roosters in twenty years. The attendance of 94,277 was the second highest ever seen at a rugby league match in Australia. It was the first time that the Clive Churchill Medal was presented separately with a ribbon being worn around the neck as previously, it was presented in a case.


2000 NRL Grand Final, Background
The 2000 NRL season was the 93rd season of professional rugby league football in Australia and the third to be run by the  National Rugby League. Fourteen teams competed from February until August for the minor premiership before the top eight teams played in the finals series, which culminated in the grand final.


2000 NRL Grand Final, Background, Brisbane Broncos
The 2000 Brisbane Broncos season was the thirteenth in the club's history. Coached by Wayne Bennett and captained by Kevin Walters, they finished the regular season 1st (out of 14 teams) to claim their 4th minor premiership. The Broncos played two finals matches (against the 8th-placed Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks then the 7th-placed Parramatta Eels), winning both to qualify for their 5th grand final.


2000 NRL Grand Final, Background, Sydney Roosters
The 2000 Sydney Roosters season was the 93rd in the club's history. Coached by Graham Murray and captained by Brad Fittler, they finished the regular season 2nd (out of 14 teams). After losing their first finals match, the Roosters won their next two to reach their 18th grand final.


2000 NRL Grand Final, Match details
Shane Webcke went into the match with a broken arm.


2000 NRL Grand Final, Match details, First half
Sydney were unlucky not to have an early lead only 3 minutes in when Shannon Hegarty got over the line but good cover defence by Brisbane fullback Darren Lockyer stopped them from scoring. The Broncos opened the scoring with a penalty goal to Michael De Vere to make it 2-0 at the 12th minute. Four minutes later, Lote Tuqiri scored the first try of the Grand Final which was converted by Michael De Vere to make it 8-0 in Brisbane's favour. Michael De Vere extended his side's lead out to 10-0 in the 27th minute. The Roosters opened their scoring in the 35th minute with a penalty goal to Luke Phillips to make it 10-2 and it remained that scoreline until halftime.


2000 NRL Grand Final, Match details, Second half
In the first minute of play after the break, Broncos five-eighth Ben Ikin got hit late with a high shot and went to the bench missing twenty minutes of the second half. Brisbane had a chance to go ten in front with a penalty goal but missed marginally. However the Broncos extended their lead to 14-2 when Wendell Sailor scored in the 55th but the conversion was unsuccessful by Michael De Vere. Craig Fitzgibbon got Sydney's first try of the match in the 70th minute to give the Roosters a glimmer of hope but his conversion was unsuccessful as it dropped onto the cross bar and bounced out, leaving the score 14-6.


2000 NRL Grand Final, Match details, Second half
12th Minute: Brisbane 2-0 (De Vere goal)16th Minute: Brisbane 8-0 (Tuqiri try; De Vere goal)27th Minute: Brisbane 10-0 (De Vere goal)35th Minute: Brisbane 10-2 (Phillips goal)53rd Minute: Brisbane 14-2 (Sailor try)71st Minute: Brisbane 14-6 (Fitzgibbon try)


2000 NRL season
The 2000 NRL season was the 93rd season of professional rugby league football in Australia and the third to be run by the National Rugby League. Fourteen teams competed from February till August for the NRL Premiership, culminating in the 2000 NRL Grand final between the Brisbane Broncos and the Sydney Roosters.


2000 NRL season, Season summary
The 2000 National Rugby League season started with a new CEO in rugby union's David Moffett who replaced Neil Whittaker in late 1999.


2000 NRL season, Season summary
The season began in early February to accommodate the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games which were to be held during September and required the use of Stadium Australia, the grand final venue. The grand final was scheduled for late August, the first grand final in that month since 1963. The capacity of Stadium Australia for the grand final was limited due to preparations for the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games, which would take place just nineteen days later.


2000 NRL season, Season summary
Throughout the month of February, mandatory breaks in play at the 20th and 60th minute of the game were implemented to allow players to rehydrate themselves. Due to concerns over the summer heat, the Brisbane and North Queensland clubs played their first four games away from home.


2000 NRL season, Season summary
The Cowboys were stripped of two competition points after it was later revealed that they unwittingly used a fourteenth player for three minutes in their 26–18 win against the Parramatta Eels, due to an error in interchanging players.


2000 NRL season, Season summary
Melbourne Storm players Stephen Kearney and Marcus Bai ended the career of Wests Tigers captain Jarrod McCracken with a spear tackle. Kearney was suspended for 8 matches and Bai for 2 matches. The two men were also sued by McCraken, who won a six-figure damages bill.


2000 NRL season, Season summary
The Canberra Raiders and the Wests Tigers became the first teams to play a premiership game in the snow. It occurred at Bruce Stadium on 28 May and it is the only premiership game played in these conditions.


2000 NRL season, Season summary, Teams
The season saw the debut of the Wests Tigers (formed by the merging of the Balmain Tigers and Western Suburbs Magpies) and Northern Eagles (formed by the merging of the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles and North Sydney Bears) in the National Rugby League. In addition, the South Sydney Rabbitohs were excluded from the competition, thereby completing the NRL's rationalisation process from 20 teams in 1998 to 14 in 2000.


2000 NRL season, Season summary, Teams
For the 2000 season, the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs changed their name again, this time to the geographically indistinct "Bulldogs" and the Auckland Warriors were re-branded the New Zealand Warriors at the end of the season.


2000 NRL season, Season summary, Advertising
For the first time since farewelling Tina Turner in 1995 the NRL used a major recording star in its promotional campaign and accessed a media budget that saw the launch ad shown regularly throughout the season. Sydney advertising agency VCD in the last of their four-year tenure on the NRL account shot an ad with Tom Jones performing on stage alongside hi-kicking female dancers, the 1993 Salt-N-Pepa hit Whatta Man with lyrics re-worked as "What A Game".


2000 NRL season, Season summary, Ladder
1 North Queensland were stripped of 2 competition points due to a breach of the interchange rule in Round 4.


2000 NRL season, Finals series
The biggest upset of the 2000 Finals series was in the 3rd Qualifying Final when 7th placed Parramatta Eels beat 2nd placed Sydney Roosters 32-8 at the SFS. It was nearly a similar story for Minor Premiers' the Brisbane Broncos when they came from 20-6 down at halftime to win 34-20 against 8th placed Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the 4th Qualifying Final at QSAC. The Sydney Roosters also made a famous comeback when they came from 16-2 down at halftime to win 26-20 against the Newcastle Knights in the 1st Preliminary Final at the SFS to earn a spot in the Grand Final against Brisbane.


2000 Nabisco Championship
The 2000 Nabisco Championship was a women's professional golf tournament, held March 23–26 at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California. This was the 29th edition of the Kraft Nabisco Championship, and the eighteenth as a major championship.


2000 Nabisco Championship
Karrie Webb won the first of her two titles in this event, ten strokes ahead of Dottie Pepper, the defending champion. It was her second consecutive major win and the second of her seven major titles. Webb held an eight-stroke lead after 54 holes, and shot a final round 70 for a comfortable victory.


2000 Nagorno-Karabakh parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections were held in the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic on 18 June 2000. A total of 33 members of the National Assembly were elected. Voter turnout was 59.7%.


2000 Nagorno-Karabakh parliamentary election, Campaign
A total of 115 candidates contested the elections, of which 88 were independents and 25 were members of political parties.


2000 Naka-Meguro derailment
The Naka-Meguro train disaster occurred in Japan on 8 March 2000. Five people were killed and 63 were injured when a derailed TRTA Hibiya Line train was sideswiped by a second train near Naka-Meguro Station.


2000 Naka-Meguro derailment, Accident
At around 9 a.m. on 8 March 2000, the rearmost car of an eight-car TRTA Hibiya Line (now Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line) train from Kita-Senju to Kikuna derailed on the tight curve immediately before Naka-Meguro Station. The derailed car was then hit by the fifth and sixth cars of an eight-car Tobu Railway train travelling in the opposite direction from Naka-Meguro to Takenotsuka.


2000 Naka-Meguro derailment, Factors
It is generally the case that if the distance between tracks is less than the width of the carriages this only allows about 600 mm clearance, so that if a train derails on the same side as the other track, it will almost certainly obstruct the other track, making a collision inevitable. Track circuits detect the presence of a train via electric current passed through the rails, which is shorted by a train car's axle or a physical break in the rails.


2000 Naka-Meguro derailment, Factors
If a derailment on an adjacent track, that doesn't cause a physical break in the other track, won't cause the track circuit to 'short' resulting in a stop signal. In this situation, a train crew member must either warn railway signal staff of the derailment, stop other trains using a handheld signal, such as a red flag, or manually short the track circuit using a specialized equipment, such as a track circuit operating clip.


2000 NatWest Triangular Series
The 2000 NatWest Series was a One Day International cricket tri-series sponsored by the National Westminster Bank that took place in England between 6 and 22 July 2001. The series involved the national teams of England, West Indies and Zimbabwe. Ten matches were played in total, with each team playing one another thrice during the group stage. The teams which finished in the top two positions following the group stages qualified for the final, which England won by defeating Zimbabwe at Lord's on 22 July by 7 wickets. Preceding the series, England played Zimbabwe in a two Test series, while following the series, 2000 Frank Worrell series continued.


2000 NatWest Trophy
The 2000 NatWest Trophy was the 20th and last NatWest Trophy before being renamed as the Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy for the 2001 season. It was an English limited overs county cricket tournament which was held between 2 May and 26 August 2000. The tournament was won by Gloucestershire who defeated Warwickshire by 22 runs in the final at Lord's.


2000 NatWest Trophy, Format
The 18 first-class counties, were joined by all twenty Minor Counties, plus Huntingdonshire. They were also joined by the cricket boards of Derbyshire, Durham, Essex, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Kent, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Middlesex, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Somerset, Surrey, Sussex, Warwickshire, Worcestershire and Yorkshire. The national teams of Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands and Scotland once again took part in the tournament.


2000 NatWest Trophy, Format
The tournament was a knockout with four rounds before the quarter-final and semi-final stages. The winners of the semi-finals went on to the final at Lord's which was held on 26 August 2000.


2000 National Camogie League
The 2000 National Camogie League, the second most important elite level inter-county competition in the women's’ team field sport of camogie was won by Cork, who defeated Tipperary in the final, played at O'Connor Park, Tullamore.


2000 National Camogie League, Arrangements
Tipperary easily defeated Armagh and Derry and overcame an inexperienced Kilkenny team before they defeated Galway after extra time in a closely fought semi-final. Cork defeated Armagh, Galway (twice), Kilkenny and Tipperary en route to the final.


2000 National Camogie League, The Final
The pattern of the final was set once Fiona O'Driscoll placed the ball past Jovita Delaney in the Tipp goal in the first minute of the second half. Playing with a strong wind, Tipperary confined Cork to one point from a free in the first half while sending over seven of their own. Cork had equalized by the 53rd minute and pulled away with a goal from Ciara Walsh, who had scored 1-6 against Kildare in the junior final which had preceded the senior final. Shortly afterwards Fiona O'Driscoll’s lobbed shot went all the way to the Tipp net.


2000 National Camogie League, Division 2
The Junior National League, known since 2006 as Division Two, was won by Cork intermediates who defeated Laois in the final.


2000 National Hockey League All-Star Game
The 2000 NHL All-Star Game was the 50th All-Star Game in the National Hockey League. It took place on February 6, 2000, at Air Canada Centre in Toronto, home to the Toronto Maple Leafs. The 1st NHL All-Star Game took place in 1947 and was also hosted by Toronto.


2000 National Hockey League All-Star Game
The All-Star week festivities saw the Canadian Hockey League Top Prospects Game played on February 2, and an exhibition game between the Canadian and American women's national teams on February 3. The Heroes of Hockey game and the Skills Competition were held on February 5. It is to note that the opening face-off for the Heroes of Hockey game were Ted Lindsay and Fleming Mackell, two players who played in the 1st All-Star Game.


2000 National Hockey League All-Star Game
The week also was a good sendoff for Wayne Gretzky, who had retired the previous season. His #99 was raised to the rafters, despite him never playing for the hometown Toronto Maple Leafs, as a show of his number's league-wide retirement. Gretzky also made it clear that he would not partake in any oldtimer or Heroes of Hockey game unless it was held in Edmonton, a statement that was realized with the 2003 Heritage Classic three years later.


2000 National Hockey League All-Star Game, Super Skills Competition
In the Skills Competition, the World All-Stars would win their third-straight skills competition. In the individual events, the Boston Bruins' Ray Bourque and Florida Panthers' Viktor Kozlov shared the Accuracy Shot event, which was Bourque's seventh victory in the event. In addition, the St. Louis Blues' Al MacInnis won his fourth-straight Hardest Shot event, which was also his sixth all-time victory in the event, and the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim's Paul Kariya would win his second-straight Puck Control Relay event.


2000 National Hockey League All-Star Game, Uniforms
Since 1951, the NHL had mandated that one team in each game must wear a white jersey to contrast with the other team's dark jersey. The only exceptions to this point had been when a team opted to wear gold in lieu of white. However, for the 2000 All-Star Game, the NHL opted to experiment with a color-vs.-color format with uniforms by CCM.


2000 National Hockey League All-Star Game, Uniforms
The North American All-Stars were clad in a navy blue uniform with white shoulders and sleeves, and the wishbone collar design previously introduced by Nike, while the World All-Stars wore red with white shoulders and sleeves, and a faux polo-style collar. The goaltenders, however, wore white jerseys with their teams' primary colors on the shoulders and sleeves. Both teams featured a white stripe across the chest (team color in the case of the goalies), with the NHL shield appearing on the player's left side, and the uniform number placed below it.


2000 National Hockey League All-Star Game, Uniforms
The World team also featured names below the numbers on the back instead of above the numbers, which would normally be considered a violation of the NHL's uniform code (which requires the player's name to be above the back number). The names and numbers were rendered in the Handel Gothic typeface.


2000 National Hockey League All-Star Game, Uniforms
The uniform design would be reused for the next All-Star Game, with the Toronto All-Star Game and NHL 2000 patches replaced with the Colorado All-Star patch.


2000 National Hockey League All-Star Game, The game
The Florida Panthers' Pavel Bure and his brother, the Calgary Flames' Valeri Bure, combined for six points (Pavel 3–1–4, Valeri 0–2–2) to lead the World All-Stars to their first All-Star Game victory over the North American All-Stars. Valeri would assist on two of Pavel's three goals to become the first brother combination to set up a goal, since the 1956 All-Star Game when Maurice and Henri Richard hooked up for an All-Star goal. Pavel Bure would become the first Russian-born player to win All-Star MVP honors.


2000 National Hurling League
The 2000 National Hurling League, known for sponsorship reasons as the Church & General National Hurling League, was the 69th edition of the National Hurling League (NHL), an annual hurling competition for the GAA county teams. Galway won the league, beating Tipperary in the final.


2000 National Hurling League, Overview, Division 1
The National Hurling League's top division featured fourteen teams divided into two groups - 1A and 1B. Each group consisted of seven teams. Galway and Limerick topped division 1A while Tipperary and Waterford topped division 1B. Galway finished the league undefeated and were crowned champions after defeating Tipp in the final.


2000 National Hurling League, Overview, Division 1
Down at the other end of the tables, Kerry and Derry failed to win a single group game and were paired against each other in the relegation play-off. Derry won that game, thus condemning Kerry to division 2 for the following year.


2000 National Hurling League, Overview, Division 2
Division 2 featured one group of ten teams. Carlow and Meath topped the group and contested the final. Meath won and secured promotion to division 1A for the following year. Tyrone ended the group stage without a single victory and were relegated to division 3 for the following year.


2000 National Hurling League, Overview, Division 3
Division 3 featured one group of nine teams. Louth finished the group stages undefeated and were joined in the final by Longford who recorded just one defeat. Louth won that game and secured promotion to division 2 for the following year.


2000 National Hurling League, Division 1
Tipperary came into the season as defending champions of the 1999 season. Derry entered Division 1 as the promoted team.


2000 National Hurling League, Division 1
On 14 May 2000, Galway won the title following a 2-18 to 2-13 win over Tipperary in the final. It was their first league title since 1995-96 and their sixth National League title overall.


2000 National Hurling League, Division 1
Kerry, who lost all of their group stage matches, were relegated from Division 1 after losing the relegation play-off to Derry by 1-21 to 2-4. Meath won Division 2 and secured promotion to the top tier.


2000 National Hurling League, Division 1
Galway's Fergal Healy was the Division 1 top scorer with 8-27.


2000 National Hurling League, Division 1, Structure
The 14 teams in Division 1 were divided into two groups of seven teams named Division 1A and Division 1B. Each team played all the others in its group once. Two points were awarded for a win and one for a draw.


2000 National Hurling League, Division 1, Structure
The first two teams in 1A and 1B advanced to the league semi-finals with the top team in Division 1A playing the second team in Division 1B and the second team in Division 1A playing the first in Division 1B. The bottom-placed teams in 1A and 1B faced each other in a play-off to determine which team would be relegated.


2000 National Hurling League, Division 2
Down and Armagh entered Division 2 as the respective relegated and promoted teams from the other divisions.


2000 National Hurling League, Division 2
On 28 May 2000, Meath won the title following a 5-14 to 2-10 win over Carlow in the final.


2000 National Hurling League, Division 2
Tyrone, who lost all of their group stage matches, were relegated from Division 2.


2000 National Hurling League, Division 3
On 28 May 2000, Louth won the title following a 0-16 to 1-11 win over Longford in the final.


2000 National Invitation Tournament
The 2000 National Invitation Tournament was the year 2000's staging of the annual National Invitation Tournament, an NCAA college basketball competition.


2000 National Invitation Tournament, Selected teams
Below is a list of the 32 teams selected for the tournament.


2000 National Invitation Tournament, Bracket
Below are the four first round brackets, along with the four-team championship bracket.


2000 National League Championship Series
The 2000 National League Championship Series (NLCS), to determine the champion of Major League Baseball's National League, was played between the Central Division champion St. Louis Cardinals and the wild card New York Mets. The Mets and Cards used as a rally cry the 2000 hit song "Who Let the Dogs Out?" by the Baha Men.


2000 National League Championship Series
This series pitted a pair of teams that were former division rivals. In the mid-1980s, the Mets and Cardinals fought it out for supremacy in the National League East over four seasons, with each team alternating division championships between 1985 and 1988 (the Cardinals in their pennant seasons of 1985 and 1987, the Mets in their championship season of 1986 and 1988; however, the Cardinals weren't serious contenders in both of those years).


2000 National League Championship Series
The Cardinals, led by manager Tony La Russa, had played through the 2000 season in relatively businesslike fashion. They had won the National League Central division, and swept the Mets' fiercest rival, Atlanta Braves, in three games in the NL Division Series, making the Mets' run to the World Series much easier. However, they were struck with several injuries to key players as the playoffs began, including slugger Mark McGwire, catcher Mike Matheny, and the sudden, unexplained wildness of rookie pitcher Rick Ankiel.


2000 National League Championship Series
The Mets, on the other hand, engaged in battle with the Braves for much of the season, eventually falling one game short of a division title. They matched up with the San Francisco Giants in the Division Series. After dropping the first game, they would rebound to win the following three games in heart-stopping fashion, including a 13th inning walk off home run from Benny Agbayani to win Game 3 and an improbable one-hit shutout by Bobby Jones to win the clinching Game 4. As noted above, the Mets thanked the Cardinals for making their run to the World Series much easier.


2000 National League Championship Series
It was the first NLCS since 1990 not to feature the Braves. MLB did not have a postseason in 1994 due to the 1994-95 Major League Baseball strike and the Braves appeared in the 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, and 1999 League Championship Series.


2000 National League Championship Series
The Mets would go on to lose to the New York Yankees in the World Series in five games.


2000 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 1
Wednesday, October 11, 2000 at Busch Stadium (II) in St. Louis, Missouri


2000 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 1
The Mets jumped on Cardinals starter Darryl Kile right from the outset. Rookie Timo Pérez led off the game with a double into the right field corner, and following a walk to Edgardo Alfonzo, scored on a double by Mike Piazza. A Robin Ventura sacrifice fly would plate Alfonzo, and the Mets were off and running.


2000 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 1
Piazza's double resulted in one of the more memorable moments of the series. Mets coach John Stearns was wearing a microphone for Fox Sports during the games, and his screams of "THE MONSTER IS OUT OF THE CAGE!!" were broadcast to a national audience. "The Monster is out of the cage" would become a rallying cry for the Mets and Piazza throughout the series.


2000 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 1
Mets starter Mike Hampton was sharp. Over seven innings, he limited the Cardinals to six hits and no runs. At the plate, Hampton helped his own cause by singling, moving to second on a groundout, and scoring the Mets' third run on Alfonzo's RBI single in the fifth inning.


2000 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 1
The Mets would effectively put the game away in the ninth inning off of Mike James on a lead off home run by Todd Zeile and two batters later, a two-run home run by Jay Payton. In the bottom of the inning, Ray Lankford hit a leadoff double off of Armando Benitez. Two outs later, shortstop Kurt Abbott's error to first on Edgar Renteria's ground ball allowed Lankford to score and Renteria to reach first. Then Jim Edmonds singled to right and Timo Perez's errant throw to third allowed Renteria to score, but Eric Davis grounded out to end the game as the Mets' 6–2 win gave them a 1–0 series lead.


2000 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 2
Thursday, October 12, 2000 at Busch Stadium (II) in St. Louis, Missouri


2000 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 2
The Mets once again jumped out to a first inning lead due to the wildness of Cardinals starter Rick Ankiel, who walked two and threw two wild pitches to put runners on second and third with one out. Todd Zeile's sacrifice fly scored a run and after a walk, Benny Agbayani's double scored another.


2000 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 2
The Cardinals trimmed the Mets lead to 2–1 in the second inning against starter Al Leiter. A run-scoring ground out with two on by Eli Marrero would plate Shawon Dunston. The Mets got that run back in the third when Mike Piazza hit his first home run of the series off Reames. The Cardinals knotted the game at 3–3 in the fifth inning on run-scoring doubles by Édgar Rentería and Fernando Tatís after a one-out single.


2000 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 2
With the score still tied and two out in the top of the eighth, the Mets would put together a rally to take a 5–3 lead off of Matt Morris. A long single by Alfonzo would score Timo Pérez, who singled with two outs, and following an intentional walk to Piazza, Zeile would single home Alfonzo. However, in the bottom of the inning, John Franco walked Carlos Hernandez, who moved to third on a single and scored on a wild pitch. J.D. Drew's double off of Turk Wendell tied the game again.


2000 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 2
In the top of the ninth off of Mike Timlin, after Robin Ventura reached on a Will Clark error, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, and was pinch run for by Joe McEwing, rookie Jay Payton came through with his second game-winning hit of the postseason, nailing a single up the middle to score McEwing, as Cardinals center fielder Jim Edmonds allowed the ball to hop off the heel of his glove and roll behind him.


2000 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 2
Armando Benítez allowed a two-out walk to Jim Edmonds in the last of the ninth, but that was all the Cardinals were able to muster as the Mets took Game 2, 6–5, to take a 2–0 series lead.


2000 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 3
Saturday, October 14, 2000 at Shea Stadium in Queens, New York


2000 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 3
The Cardinals would mark their first, and only, victory of the NLCS with an easy 8–2 victory. Jim Edmonds hit a two-run double in the top of the first inning off Mets starter Rick Reed. The Mets cut the lead to 2–1 in the bottom half on Mike Piazza's double-play after back-to-back leadoff singles put runners on first and third. In the third, with runners on first and second, Ray Lankford's RBI single and Fernando Tatis's sacrifice fly scored a run each.


2000 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 3
Next inning, three consecutive one-out singles, the last of which to Edgar Renteria scoring a run, knocked Reed out of the game. The Mets loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the inning, but only scored once on Jay Payton's double play. In the fifth, after a leadoff double and subsequent single, Carlos Hernandez's RBI single off of Rick White made it 6–2 Cardinals. After a sacrifice bunt, Fernando Vina's fielder's choice and Renteria's groundout scored a run each to make it 8–2 Cardinals.


2000 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 3
Cardinals starter Andy Benes pitched eight solid innings, holding the Mets to two runs and six hits, while notching five strikeouts. More importantly, he was able to give the Cardinals' weary bullpen a bit of rest and put them back in the series. Mike James in the ninth allowed a leadoff single and walk, but struck out the next three batters looking to end the game.


2000 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 4
Sunday, October 15, 2000 at Shea Stadium in Queens, New York


2000 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 4
Both teams would come out with their hitting shoes on in this game. The Cardinals would jump out to a 2–0 lead in the top of the first inning, as Jim Edmonds hit a two-run home run off Mets Starter Bobby Jones. The lead, however, would be short-lived as the Mets would flex their offensive muscle against Darryl Kile in a record-setting display.


2000 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 4
Timo Pérez, as he had done all postseason, sparked the rally with a leadoff ground rule double in the bottom of the first. Edgardo Alfonzo followed with a double of his own, down the right field line, scoring Perez. Mike Piazza followed with a third double for the Mets, a long one-hop drive off the wall in right center. Holding on the fly, Alfonzo only made it to third, but Robin Ventura followed by ripping the Mets' fourth consecutive double, which would score both Alfonzo and Piazza, and put the Mets ahead 3–2. One out later, Benny Agbayani launched a long double off the wall in left center to score Ventura. This was the Mets' fifth double of the inning, which set a new League Championship Series record.


2000 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 4
The Mets would continue to bombard Kile and the Cardinals in the second inning. With two outs and the bases loaded, Todd Zeile would hit yet another double for the Mets, scoring two more runs. Agbayani would single home a seventh Mets run before Zeile was tagged out at home to end the inning. Will Clark's home run in the fourth cut the Mets' lead to 7–3


2000 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 4
Kile was gone by the fourth inning, and Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan was ejected from the game while removing him. Kile's replacement, Mike James, would not fare much better, as Mike Piazza would launch a long home run, well over the Cardinals' bullpen out in deep left field to give the Mets an 8–3 lead after the fourth.


2000 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 4
Bobby Jones, who had thrown a magnificent one-hit shutout against the Giants in the division series, struggled while pitching with a big lead. In the fifth inning, Jones would be knocked from the game after surrendering back-to-back leadoff singles followed by an RBI double to Eric Davis, and Glendon Rusch in relief allowed a one-out sacrifice fly to Edgar Renteria and subsequent RBI single to Edmonds. However Rusch then pitched three shutout innings.


2000 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 4
The Mets would put the game away in the sixth off of Mike Timlin, thanks to two errors by Cardinals third baseman Fernando Tatís. Tatis' first error allowed Perez to reach base: despite the fact that Tatis had time, his hasty throw was low and Will Clark was unable to handle it. Tatis' second error, a bobble on a Ventura grounder with the bases loaded, would allow Mike Bordick to score. Robin Ventura's sacrifice fly then scored the Mets' last run.


2000 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 4
The Mets received strong bullpen work not only from Rusch, but also from John Franco and Armando Benítez, who threw scoreless innings in the eighth and ninth respectively, to close out the Cardinals and give the Mets a commanding 3–1 lead in the series.


2000 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 4
This game would turn controversial for LaRussa, who had been bringing injured slugger Mark McGwire off the bench to pinch hit in key situations. Afforded several opportunities with the tying runs in place, LaRussa never sent McGwire up to hit in this game, and eventually he would run out of opportunities to do so.


2000 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 5
Monday, October 16, 2000 at Shea Stadium in Queens, New York


2000 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 5
Needing a victory to close out the series at home and avoid a trip back to St. Louis, the Mets, behind Mike Hampton, cruised to a 7–0 victory and their first National League pennant since their championship season of 1986.


2000 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 5
The Mets would once again stake themselves to an early lead, jumping on Cardinals starter Pat Hentgen in the first inning. Again it was Timo Pérez sparking the Mets, singling under the glove of Édgar Rentería, stealing second base and moving to third when catcher Carlos Hernández's throw went into center field. Edgardo Alfonzo would single home Perez. Following a walk to Mike Piazza, Robin Ventura would single home Alfonzo for the Mets' second run. The Mets would add a third run on a fielder's choice by Todd Zeile.


2000 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 5
The Mets would effectively put the game away in the fourth inning, when with two outs and the bases loaded (a situation in which Zeile found himself the previous night), Todd Zeile hit a long double off the wall in right center field, scoring three runs, giving the Mets a 6–0 lead, and resulting in raucous Mets fans making Shea Stadium literally shake.


2000 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 5
The Mets would add a final run off of Rick Ankiel when Mike Bordick drew a leadoff walk, moved to second on a groundout and scored on two wild pitches in the seventh inning. In yet another controversial move from Tony La Russa, Ankiel was inserted into the game in the bottom of the seventh. After walking Mike Bordick to start the inning, retired Hampton and Perez, before uncorking a pair of wild pitches with Edgardo Alfonzo at the plate, allowing Bordick to score the seventh and final run of the game. Ankiel would depart after walking Alfonzo.


2000 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 5
An ugly incident was averted in the bottom of the eighth inning, where with two outs and Benny Agbayani on first base, Jay Payton was hit near his left eye by a fastball from Cardinals pitcher Dave Veres. Payton immediately leapt up and charged Veres, and both benches and bullpens cleared, although Payton would be restrained by Agbayani and Bobby Valentine before the incident could escalate. Mets pitcher John Franco mugged for the fans to settle down following the incident; the crowd responded by chanting Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye at the Cardinals, and booed them off the field at the conclusion of the inning.


2000 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 5
Saying before the game that "I was looking to pitch the game of my life", Mike Hampton was nothing short of superb. In pitching a complete game shutout, Hampton allowed only three hits and one walk, and struck out eight. His efforts in this game, and in Game 1 would result in his being named MVP of the NLCS.


2000 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 5
Hampton closed out the game by getting pinch-hitter Rick Wilkins to fly out to center field. Mets center fielder Timo Pérez jumped up and down three times before making the catch, Robin Ventura hoisted Hampton in the air and a wild celebration was touched off, culminating in Mike Piazza leading the entire Mets team in a victory lap around Shea Stadium.


2000 National League Championship Series, Composite box
2000 NLCS (4–1): New York Mets over St. Louis Cardinals


2000 National League Championship Series, Aftermath
The Mets would advance to the 2000 World Series, their first appearance in the World Series since their championship season of 1986. They would meet their crosstown rivals, the New York Yankees in the first Subway Series to take place since 1956. In five games that were as nip-and-tuck as baseball can be, the Yankees would come out on top, winning their third consecutive World Championship. The Mets would then muddle through several unsuccessful seasons, and would not return to the Postseason until 2006.


2000 National League Championship Series, Aftermath
Series MVP Mike Hampton would leave via free agency following the season, signing with the Colorado Rockies. Hampton's departure from New York was not well-received, as he made comments about the city's school system, and was routinely booed upon his reappearances at Shea Stadium.


2000 National League Championship Series, Aftermath
The Cardinals would return to the National League Championship Series in 2002, losing to the San Francisco Giants. They would return to the World Series for the first time since 1987 when they defeated the Houston Astros in the NLCS in 2004. The Cardinals would face the Mets again in the 2006 National League Championship Series, with the Redbirds defeating the Mets this time in an epic and dramatic series that ended in seven games. The only player remaining on either roster from the series in 2000 was Cardinals center fielder Jim Edmonds. There were no 2006 Mets left on the team that played in 2000.


2000 National League Division Series
The 2000 National League Division Series (NLDS), the opening round of the 2000 National League playoffs, began on Tuesday, October 3, and ended on Sunday, October 8, with the champions of the three NL divisions—along with a "wild card" team—participating in two best-of-five series. They were:


2000 National League Division Series
The Cardinals and Mets went on to meet in the NL Championship Series (NLCS). The Mets beat the Cardinals four games to one to advance to the 2000 World Series, where they would lose to the American League champion New York Yankees in five games.


2000 National League Division Series, San Francisco vs. New York, Game 1
In the first ever playoff game at Pacific Bell Park, the Giants struck first in the bottom of the first when Jeff Kent followed a double and single with an RBI groundout off Mike Hampton. Giants Pitcher Liván Hernández allowed one run and five hits (on a walk in the third that tied the game) over a 7+2⁄3 inning effort. In the bottom of the third, Bill Mueller singled with two outs and scored on Barry Bonds's triple to put the Giants back in front. After a walk, a three-run home run by Ellis Burks capped the scoring at 5–1 as the Giants took a 1–0 series lead.


2000 National League Division Series, San Francisco vs. New York, Game 2
In Game 2, the Mets loaded the bases on a hit-by-pitch and two walks off Shawn Estes when Timo Perez's two-run single put them up 2–0. The Giants cut it to 2–1 in the bottom of the inning when Jeff Kent hit a leadoff single and scored on Ellis Burks's double. Behind strong pitching from Al Leiter and a two-out two-run home run from Edgardo Alfonzo in the top of the ninth inning off Félix Rodríguez, the Mets carried a 4–1 lead into the last of the ninth.


2000 National League Division Series, San Francisco vs. New York, Game 2
However, following a double by Barry Bonds and a single from Jeff Kent, pinch hitter J. T. Snow hit a towering three-run home run off Mets reliever Armando Benítez to tie the game at four. The Mets would bounce back in the tenth inning, with Rookie Jay Payton singling home Darryl Hamilton, who doubled with two outs, off Rodriguez. The Giants would threaten again, and had the tying run on with two out and Bonds at the plate, but John Franco struck out Bonds looking on a wicked 3–2 changeup, giving the Mets a heart-stopping 5–4 victory and a 1–1 series moving to New York.


2000 National League Division Series, San Francisco vs. New York, Game 3
The series shifted to Shea Stadium with game 3 starting at 4:20 P.M. (Eastern time), Giants starting pitcher Russ Ortiz stifled the Mets early, and had a no-hitter entering the sixth inning. He was staked to a 2–0 lead thanks to two leadoff singles in the fourth off Rick Reed, followed RBI singles from Bobby Estalella and Marvin Benard. In the sixth, the Mets broke through. After a walk and single, rookie Timo Pérez, forced into action due to a Game 1 injury to starting right fielder Derek Bell, blooped a single over third base to score Mike Bordick and put the Mets on the scoreboard.


2000 National League Division Series, San Francisco vs. New York, Game 3
Two innings later, with the Mets still down by one run, pinch hitter Lenny Harris barely beat out the return throw on what would have been an inning-ending double play off Doug Henry. The Giants brought in closer Robb Nen, who had not blown a save since July to face Edgardo Alfonzo. However, Alfonzo ended that streak by ripping a double into the left field corner to score Harris and tie the game.


2000 National League Division Series, San Francisco vs. New York, Game 3
The game continued on into extra innings, where both teams mounted scoring threats, only to be turned away each time.


2000 National League Division Series, San Francisco vs. New York, Game 3
The game ended when Benny Agbayani blasted a home run into the left field bleachers with one out in the thirteenth inning off Aaron Fultz, capping another memorable postseason game at Shea Stadium and putting the Mets ahead in the series two games to one. Game three nail-biter lasted 5 hours and 22 minutes, it was the second longest playoff game by hours and minutes in Major League Baseball history at the time.


2000 National League Division Series, San Francisco vs. New York, Game 3
Agbayani hits it to deep left center...13th inning! Mets win game three!


2000 National League Division Series, San Francisco vs. New York, Game 4
In perhaps the most unlikely great pitching performance in recent memory, Bobby Jones, the Mets' fourth starter, completely shut down the Giants offense, hurling a masterful one-hit shutout to clinch the series for the Mets. Mixing 85 MPH fastballs and 65 MPH curveballs, Jones thoroughly baffled Giant hitters all afternoon, setting down the side in order in eight of nine innings. Jeff Kent's leadoff double in the fifth inning would be the Giants' only hit. Jones would get all the offense he would need on Robin Ventura's two-run home run in the first inning off Mark Gardner. The Mets padded their lead in the fifth on Edgardo Alfonso's two-run double. Jones got Barry Bonds to fly out to center to end the game, and set off a raucous celebration at Shea Stadium.


2000 National League Division Series, San Francisco vs. New York, Game 4
Mets announcer Bob Murphy would say following the final out,


2000 National League Division Series, San Francisco vs. New York, Game 4
The Mets have never had a better ball game pitched in their 39-year history!