The 1997 Munster Senior Hurling Championship Final (sponsored by Guinness) was a hurling match played on Sunday 6 July 1997 at Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Cork. It was contested by Clare and Tipperary. Clare captained by Anthony Daly and managed by Ger Loughnane claimed the title beating Tipperary on a scoreline of 1-18 to 0-18. The match was shown live in Ireland as part of the Sunday Game live on RTÉ Two.The win was the first for Clare over Tipperary in a Munster final. Both teams would go on to contest the 1997 All-Ireland Final, two months later, a game which was also won by Clare on a 2-13 to 0-20 scoreline.

The 1997 NCAA Women's Division I Swimming and Diving Championships were contested at the 16th 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.This year's events were hosted at the Indiana University Natatorium in Indianapolis, Indiana.USC topped the team standings, finishing just 11 points ahead of five-time defending champions Stanford; it was the Trojans' first women's team title.

The 1997 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 1997, and concluded with the NCAA Division III Football Championship, also known as the Stagg Bowl, in December 1997 at Salem Football Stadium in Salem, Virginia.

The 1997 NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament was played at the end of the 1997 NCAA Division III baseball season to determine the 22nd national champion of college baseball at the NCAA Division III level. The tournament concluded with eight teams competing at Salem Memorial Ballpark in Salem, Virginia for the championship. Eight regional tournaments were held to determine the participants in the World Series. Regional tournaments were contested in double-elimination format, with one region consisting of six teams, six regions consisting of four teams, and one region consisting of two teams, which was played as best-of-five, for a total of 32 teams participating in the tournament. The tournament champion was Southern Maine, who defeated Wooster for the championship.

1997 National Camogie League

1997 New Zealand NBL season

The 1997 New York Giants season was the team's 73rd season in the National Football League. On January 15, Jim Fassel was named as the fifteenth coach in club history. The team improved upon their previous season's output of 6–10, winning ten games and qualifying for the playoffs for the first time in four seasons.

1997 NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships

Two human polls comprised the 1997 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I-A football rankings. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a national championship, instead that title is bestowed by one or more different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason—the AP Poll and the Coaches' Poll.

Yusuke Nakatani

This is a list of players who graduated from the Nike Tour in 1997. The top 15 players on the Nike Tour's money list in 1997 earned their PGA Tour card for 1998.*PGA Tour rookie for 1998.T = TiedGreen background indicates the player retained his PGA Tour card for 1999 (won or finished inside the top 125).Yellow background indicates player did not retain his PGA Tour card for 1999, but retained conditional status (finished between 126–150).Red background indicates the player did not retain his PGA Tour card for 1999 (finished outside the top 150).

The 1997 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 Kilkenny in the final, played at Páirc Uí Rinn.

1997 NCAA Division II football rankings

1997 Ohio State Buckeyes football season

1998-99 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

The OFC U-20 Championship 1997 was held in Tahiti. It also served as qualification for the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship.

1997 Nagoya Grampus Eight season

The 1997 Oceania Cup was an international rugby league football tournament played in the Pacific region. The tournament was operated and contested by Super League-aligned countries during the Super League war as an alternative to the Pacific Cup.Six teams contested the Cup. The 1997 tournament went ahead following the previous year's cancellation due to the unavailability of Australian teams when the tournament was replaced with a Pacific Challenge Series.

1997 New York Giants football team

The 1997 Ms. Olympia contest was an IFBB professional bodybuilding competition was held on November 22, 1997, at the Beacon Theatre in New York City, New York. It was the 18th Ms. Olympia competition held.

1997 Munster Senior Hurling Championship Final

1997 New York Jets football team

The 1997 Nicholls State Colonels football team represented Nicholls State University in the 1997 NCAA Division I-AA football season. The Colonels were led by third-year head coach Darren Barbier. They played their home games at John L. Guidry Stadium and were a member of the Southland Conference. They finished the season 5–6, 3–4 in Southland play to finish tied for fourth place.

The 1997 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 1997 season.

1997 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

The 1997 Ohio State Buckeyes football team represented the Ohio State University in the 1997 Big Ten Conference football season. The Buckeyes compiled a 10–3 record, including the 1998 Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, Louisiana, where they lost 31–14 to the Florida State Seminoles.

1997 New York Film Critics Circle Awards

The 1997 NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championships were the 16th annual championships to determine the national champions of NCAA Division I women's singles, doubles, and team collegiate tennis in the United States.Stanford defeated defending champions Florida in the team final, 5–1, to claim their ninth national title.

The 1997 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament was played at the end of the 1997 NCAA Division I baseball season to determine the national champion of college baseball. The tournament concluded with eight teams competing in the College World Series, a double-elimination tournament in its fifty first year. Eight regional competitions were held to determine the participants in the final event.

The 1997 NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship was the 17th women's collegiate field hockey tournament organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, to determine the top college field hockey team in the United States. The North Carolina Tar Heels won their third championship, defeating the Old Dominion in the final The championship rounds were held at the George J. Sherman Family-Sports Complex in Storrs, Connecticut on the campus of the University of Connecticut.

The 63rd New York Film Critics Circle Awards, honoring the best in film for 1997, were announced on 11 December 1997 and given on 4 January 1998.

The 1997 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament began on March 14, 1997, and concluded on March 30, 1997, when Tennessee won the national title. The Final Four was held at Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati on March 28–30, 1997. Tennessee, Old Dominion, Stanford, and Notre Dame qualified to the Final Four. Tennessee and Old Dominion won their semi-final Final Four matchups and continued on to the championship. Tennessee defeated Old Dominion 68-59 for their fifth national title.

The 1997 NCAA Rowing Championships were contested at the first annual NCAA-sanctioned regatta to determine the team national champions of women's collegiate crew in the United States during the This year's regatta was held on May 31, 1997 at Lake Natoma near Rancho Cordova, California.

The 1997 Oceania Cup was an international rugby league football tournament played in the Pacific region. The tournament was operated and contested by Super League-aligned countries during the Super League war as an alternative to the Pacific Cup.Six teams contested the Cup. The 1997 tournament went ahead following the previous year's cancellation due to the unavailability of Australian teams when the tournament was replaced with a Pacific Challenge Series. Western Samoa withdrew from the tournament in disagreement with Super League-aligned authorities over promises that they believed were given to them.The tournament was originally scheduled to have two pools, one based in New Zealand and one in Tonga, and the final was to be played as a curtain raiser to the Super League Tri-Series final.

1997 New Mexico Lobos football season

1997 National Hockey League All-Star Game

The 1997 Oceania Junior Women's Handball Championship, was the first official competition for junior women's national handball teams from Oceania. It was held from December 11–12, 1998 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It also acted as the qualifying competition for the 1997 IHF Women's Junior World Championship, securing one Vacancy for the World Championship.Australia and New Zealand played a two-game series to determine the winner. Australia was the winner but decided to defer its entry to the World Cup and New Zealand also deferred.

1997 Ole Miss Rebels football season

The 1997 NECBL season was the fourth season of the New England Collegiate Baseball League. The league added a new franchise from Torrington, Connecticut, the Torrington Twisters. The league's Waterbury, Connecticut franchise dropped out after three seasons.In the semifinal playoff rounds, Torrington defeated Danbury 2-0, and Middletown defeated Rhode Island 2-0. In the championship round, Middletown defeated Torrington 2-1 to win the NECBL championship.

The 1997 WNBA season was the first season for the New York Liberty.

1997 Nippon Professional Baseball season

These are the films shown at the 4th New York Underground Film Festival, held from March 19–23, 1997.

Jiro Yabe

The 1997 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game was the finals of the 1997 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament and it determined the national champion for the 1996–97 season. The 1997 National Title Game was played on March 31, 1997, at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, Indiana. The 1997 National Title Game was played between the 1997 West Regional Champions, #1-seeded Kentucky and the 1997 Southeast Regional Champions, #4-seeded Arizona.

1997 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament

1997 National Hockey League Entry Draft

1997 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championships

1997 Northeast Louisiana Indians football season

1997 Nottingham Open - Singles

The 1997 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team represented the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Tom Osborne and played their home games in Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska.

1997 Nottingham Open

1997 NCAA Division I baseball rankings

1997 NatWest Trophy

1997 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game

1997 World Archery Championships

1997 Swedish Touring Car Championship season

1997 NBA All-Star Game

The 1997 North Carolina Tar Heels football team represented the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill during the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Tar Heels played their home games at Kenan Memorial Stadium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and competed in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The team was coached by Mack Brown finished the season 11–1 overall, 7–1 in the conference.At the end of the season, Mack Brown left for Texas and as a result, did not coach in the Gator Bowl victory over Virginia Tech. Carl Torbush, who was the defensive coordinator during the regular season, became the head coach when Brown left. North Carolina credits the regular season to Mack Brown and the Gator Bowl victory to Carl Torbush.

The 1997 National League Championship Series (NLCS) pitted the Florida Marlins against the Atlanta Braves. The Marlins won the series, 4–2, and went on to defeat the Cleveland Indians in the 1997 World Series.

The 1997 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships were contested June 4−7 at Billy Hayes Track at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana in order to determine the individual and team national champions of men's and women's collegiate Division I outdoor track and field events in the United States.These were the 75th annual men's championships and the 16th annual women's championships. This was the Hoosiers' third time hosting the event (and second time hosting in Bloomington−the 1986 event was in Indianapolis) and first since 1986.In a repeat of the previous five years' results, Arkansas and LSU topped the men's and women's team standings, respectively; it was the Razorbacks' seventh men's team title and the eleventh for the Lady Tigers (who finished just one point ahead of Texas).This was the sixth of eight consecutive titles for Arkansas. The Lady Tigers, meanwhile, captured their eleventh consecutive title, and, ultimately, the last of the eleven straight titles they claimed between 1987 and 1997.

1997 North American Touring Car Championship season

1997 Nebelhorn Trophy

1997 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest

The 1997 Nations Cup was the second event of six in the 1997–98 ISU Champions Series, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held in Gelsenkirchen on October 30 – November 2. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. Skaters earned points toward qualifying for the 1997–98 Champions Series Final.

1997 Nike Tour

1997 National Board of Review Awards

1997 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships

1997 NHL Western Conference Final

The 1997 NatWest Trophy was the 17th NatWest Trophy. It was an English limited overs county cricket tournament which was held between 24 June and 7 September 1997. The tournament was won by Essex County Cricket Club who defeated Warwickshire County Cricket Club by 9 wickets in the final at Lord's.

1997 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament

The 1997 Northern Illinois Huskies football team represented Northern Illinois University. The Huskies competed in the highest division of football, Division I-A. They were led by second year head coach Joe Novak and they played their home games at Huskie Stadium.

1997 New York Mets season

The Norwegian Football Cup 1997 was won by the first division side Vålerenga, after they beat Strømsgodset in the cup final.

The 1997 New York Jets season was the franchise's 28th season in the National Football League and the 38th overall. They improved upon its league-worst and franchise-worst 1–15 record from 1996 finshing at 9-7, but narrowly missed the playoffs after losing their final game of the season. Sparked by the arrival of head coach Bill Parcells, who replaced Rich Kotite, and was coming off a Super Bowl berth the previous season.

The 1997 Oceania Youth Athletics Championships were held at the National Stadium in Suva, Fiji, between July 11–12, 1997. A total of 33 events were contested, 17 by boys and 16 by girls.

1997 NY

The 1997 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships were contested in March 1997 at the University Aquatic Center at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota at the 74th 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.Auburn topped the team standings for the first time, finishing 156.5 points ahead of Stanford.

1997 NC State Wolfpack football season

NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament

1997 Ohio State Buckeyes football

1997 Ms. Olympia

1997 Oklahoma Sooners football season

1997 Oklahoma State Cowboys football team

1997 Open Gaz de France - Doubles

The 1997 Navy Midshipmen football team represented the United States Naval Academy (USNA) during the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. Navy competed as an independent with no conference affiliation. The team was led by third-year head coach Charlie Weatherbie.

1997 NBL Season

1997 NCAA Rowing Championships

The New Year Honours 1997 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countries. They were announced on 31 December 1996, to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 1997 in the United Kingdom, New Zealand and the Cook Islands, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Christopher and Nevis.The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour, and arranged by honour, with classes (Knight, Knight Grand Cross, etc.) and then divisions (Military, Civil, etc.) as appropriate.

1997 New York/New Jersey MetroStars season

1997 Nottingham Open – Doubles

The New Zealand rugby league season 1997 was the 90th season of rugby league that had been played in New Zealand. The main feature of the year was the Super League Challenge Cup that was run by the New Zealand Rugby League. Waikato won the Challenge Cup by defeating Canterbury 34-18 and also ended the season holding the Rugby League Cup.

1997 Munster Senior Hurling Final

1997 Norwegian Football Cup Final

1997 New York Jets season

1997 Nokia Open – Doubles

1997 NV

The 1997 NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament was the 28th annual tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA men's collegiate volleyball. The single-elimination tournament was played at St. John Arena in Columbus, Ohio, during May 1997.Stanford defeated UCLA in the final match, 3–2 (15–7, 15–10, 9–15, 6–15, 15–13), to win their first national title. The Cardinal (27–4) were coached by Ruben Nieves.Stanford's Mike Lambert was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

1997 NASCAR Truck Series

The 1997 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 1997. The season progressed through the regular season and concluded with the 1997 College World Series.

1997–98 Scottish First Division

The New York Yankees' 1997 season was the 95th season for the Yankees. New York was managed by Joe Torre and played at Yankee Stadium. The team finished with a record of 96–66 finishing 2 games behind of the Baltimore Orioles in the American League East. They entered the postseason as the American League Wild Card, but lost the Division Series in 5 games to the Cleveland Indians.

1997 Next Generation Adelaide International - Singles

The 1997 NC State Wolfpack football team represented North Carolina State University in the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was led by fifth-year head coach Mike O'Cain and played its home games at Carter–Finley Stadium. They finished the season with a 6–5 record overall and a 3–5 record in Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) games.

1997 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament

The 1997 Norwegian Football Cup Final was the final match of the 1997 Norwegian Football Cup, the 92nd season of the Norwegian Football Cup, the premier Norwegian football cup competition organized by the Football Association of Norway (NFF). The match was played on 26 October 1997 at the Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo, and was contested between the First Division side Vålerenga and the Tippeligaen side Strømsgodset. Vålerenga defeated Strømsgodset 4–2 to claim the Norwegian Cup for a second time in their history.

1997–98 Scottish Challenge Cup

1997 NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament

1997 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament

The 1997 Nabisco Dinah Shore was a women's professional golf tournament, held March 27–30 at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California. This was the 26th edition of the Nabisco Dinah Shore, and the fifteenth as a major championship.Betsy King, age 41, won her third title in this event, two strokes ahead of runners-up Kris Tschetter and Amy Fruhwirth. It was the last of her six major titles.At $900,000, this was the tournament's last six-figure purse; the winner's share was $135,000.

1997 Oakland Raiders

1997 Oceania Junior Women's Handball Championship

Durix

1997 Newsweek Champions Cup – Singles

The 1997 New Zealand rugby union tour of Europe was a series of matches played in November–December 1997 in Europe by New Zealand national rugby union team.

The 1997 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 1997, and concluded with the NCAA Division III Football Championship, also known as the Stagg Bowl, in December 1997 at Salem Football Stadium in Salem, Virginia. The Mount Union Purple Raiders won their third, and second consecutive, Division III championship by defeating the Lycoming Warriors, 61−12.The Gagliardi Trophy, given to the most outstanding player in Division III football, was awarded to Bill Borchert, quarterback from Mount Union.

1997 New Delhi Open

1997 NCAA Division II Football Championship playoffs

1997 NHL All-Star Game

The 1997 NHK Trophy was the final event of six in the 1997–98 ISU Champions Series, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held in Nagano on November 27–30. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. Skaters earned points toward qualifying for the 1997–98 Champions Series Final.

The 1997 Norwegian First Division, Norway's second-tier football league, began play on 20 April 1997 and ended on 12 October 1997. The league was contested by 14 teams, and the top two teams won promotion to Tippeligaen, while the third placed played a promotion-playoff against the 12th-placed team in Tippeligaen to win promotion. The bottom four teams were relegated to the Second Division.Vålerenga and Moss won promotion to Tippeligaen, while Eik-Tønsberg lost the promotion-playoff against Tromsø. Runar, Drøbak/Frogn, Harstad and Sarpsborg was relegated to the Second Division.

Kazumasa Kawano

This is a list of players who graduated from the Nike Tour in 1997.

1997 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football

The 1997 Omloop Het Volk was the 51st edition of the Omloop Het Volk cycle race and was held on 1 March 1997. The race started in Ghent and finished in Lokeren. The race was won by Peter Van Petegem.

1997 NCAA Division I baseball season

1997 Next Generation Adelaide International

1997 Nabisco Dinah Shore

1997 Nokia Open - Doubles

1997 Northern Illinois Huskies football season

The 1997 NBA All-Star Game was the 47th edition of the All-Star Game and commemorated the 50th anniversary of NBA. The game was played on February 9, 1997, at Gund Arena (now known as Quicken Loans Arena) in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. The winner of the MVP award was Glen Rice of the Charlotte Hornets who played 25 minutes and scored 26 points while breaking two records in the process, 20 points in the third quarter and 24 points in the second half. Rice's 20 points in the period broke Hal Greer's record (19), set in 1968. Rice's 24 points in a half surpassed the previous mark of 23, owned by Wilt Chamberlain and Tom Chambers. Michael Jordan's 14 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists were the first and, until the 2011 NBA All-Star Game, the only triple-double in NBA All-Star Game history (LeBron James (2011), Dwyane Wade (2012), and Kevin Durant (2017) have also achieved this). Five players (Charles Barkley, Alonzo Mourning, Patrick Ewing, Clyde Drexler, Shaquille O’Neal) who were voted or selected for the team opted out due to injury, opening the doors for the annually neglected and the new stars—Joe Dumars, Detlef Schrempf, Chris Webber, Chris Gatling and 20-year-old second-year man Kevin Garnett took their spots.For this NBA All-Star Game, and the next four games that were played (1998, 2000-02), no special uniforms were issued, and the players simply wore the uniforms from their respective teams, an approach that is used by Major League Baseball for its All-Star Game.The halftime show featured a ceremony honoring the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History. Of the 50 players named, three were not present: Pete Maravich (who died in 1988), Shaquille O'Neal (who was recovering from a knee injury), and Jerry West (who was having surgery for an ear infection).

The 1997 New Mexico Lobos football team represented the University of New Mexico in the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Lobos were led by sixth-year head coach Dennis Franchione, in his final year with the team, and played their home games at University Stadium in Albuquerque, New Mexico. They finished the regular season atop the Mountain Division of the Western Athletic Conference with a 6–2 conference record, and lost to Colorado State in the 1997 WAC Championship Game.

1997 Oakland Raiders season

1997 World Amateur Boxing Championships

1997 National Scout Jamboree

The 1997 NBA All-Star Game was the 47th edition of the All-Star Game and commemorated the 50th anniversary of NBA. The game was played on February 9, 1997, at Gund Arena (now known as Quicken Loans Arena) in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. The winner of the MVP award was Glen Rice of the Charlotte Hornets who played 25 minutes and scored 26 points while breaking two records in the process, 20 points in the third quarter and 24 points in the second half.

The 1997 New Zealand National Basketball League season was the 16th running of the competition. The early 1990s held dwindling fortunes New Zealand basketball, with TV coverage reduced, sponsorships dwindled and crowd numbers on the decline. At the end of the 1996 season, both the Wellington Saints and the Hutt Valley Lakers were struggling to survive.

1997 Norwegian Third Division

1997 NCAA Division III football season

1997 NC State Wolfpack football

1997 New England Patriots season

Ricardinho

1997 Nations Cup

1997 NBA draft

1997 Nebraska Cornhuskers football

1997 New York Yankees season

1997 Ohio Bobcats football season

1997 New Zealand rugby union tour of Britain and Ireland

1997 Nicholls State Colonels football team

1997 NC State Wolfpack football team

1997 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team

General manager

Kunihiko Takizawa

1997 Norwegian Premier League (women)

1997 National Basketball Association Finals

The 1997 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Tournament was the 27th 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.The championship game was played at Maryland's Byrd Stadium in front of 25,317 fans, The game saw the Princeton University defeat University of Maryland by the score of 19–7. This is Princeton's second consecutive national championship under Head Coach Bill Tierney, and their fourth title since 1992.

The 1997 Nippon Professional Baseball season was the 48th season of operation for the league.

1997 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship Game

1997 New Orleans Saints

1997 Northern Illinois Huskies football

The 1997 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships were the 59th annual NCAA Men's Division I Cross Country Championship and the 17th annual NCAA Women's Division I Cross Country Championship to determine the team and individual national champions of NCAA Division I men's and women's collegiate cross country running in the United States. In all, four different titles were contested: men's and women's individual and team championships.Held on November 24, 1997, the combined meet was hosted by Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina. The distance for the men's race was 10 kilometers (6.21 miles) while the distance for the women's race was 5 kilometers (3.11 miles).The men's team championship was again won by Stanford (53 points), the Cardinal's second overall and second consecutive. The women's team championship was won by BYU (100 points), the Cougars' first.The two individual champions were, for the men, Meb Keflezighi (UCLA, 28:54) and, for the women, Carrie Tollefson (Villanova, 16:29).

The 1997 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 1997. The season progressed through the regular season and concluded with the 1997 College World Series. The College World Series, held for the fifty first time in 1997, consisted of one team from each of eight regional competitions and was held in Omaha, Nebraska at Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium as a double-elimination tournament. LSU claimed the championship for the fourth time.

The 1997 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament (also known as the 1997 NCAA Women's College Cup) was the 16th 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 the UNCG Soccer Stadium in Greensboro, North Carolina during December 1997.North Carolina defeated Connecticut in the final, 2–0, to win their fourteenth national title.

1997 Oceania Cup

1997 Newsweek Champions Cup

Tomoya Yamagami

1997 Oceania Youth Athletics Championships

1997 New Mexico Lobos football team

1997 NHL Eastern Conference Final

1997 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

Toshihiro Uchida

The following polls make up the 1997 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.

The 1997 Nabisco Dinah Shore was a women's professional golf tournament, held March 27–30 at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California. This was the 26th edition of the Nabisco Dinah Shore, and the fifteenth as a major championship.Betsy King, age 41, won her third title in this event, two strokes ahead of runners-up Kris Tschetter and Amy Fruhwirth.

The 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season, play of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division I-A level, began in late summer 1997 and culminated with the major bowl games in early January 1998. The national championship was split for the third time in the 1990s. The Michigan Wolverines finished the season atop the AP Poll after completing a 12–0 campaign with a Big Ten Conference championship and a victory in the Rose Bowl over Washington State. The Nebraska Cornhuskers garnered the top ranking in the Coaches' Poll with a 13–0 record, a Big 12 Conference championship, and a win over Tennessee in the Orange Bowl. Michigan's Charles Woodson, who played primarily at cornerback, but also saw time on offense as a wide receiver and on special teams as a punt returner, won the Heisman Trophy, becoming the first primarily defensive player to win the award. The 1997 season was the third and final season in which the major bowl games were organized under the Bowl Alliance system. The Bowl Championship Series was instituted the following year.In Tom Osborne's last season as head coach, Nebraska took over the #1 ranking in the nation after defeating Texas Tech midway through the season. Three weeks later, despite winning at Missouri in an overtime game against an unranked Missouri football team, Nebraska slipped to a #2 ranking in the polls, as voters weren't impressed by the way the Cornhuskers won the game (a controversial kicked ball that was caught for the game-tying TD as time expired in regulation); Michigan moved ahead of Nebraska after its 34-8 victory over #3 ranked Penn State.The consensus #1 team going into the bowl season was undefeated Michigan, ranked #1 in both the AP and the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll. Led by coach of the year Lloyd Carr and Heisman Trophy winner Charles Woodson, Michigan went into the 1998 Rose Bowl against #8 Washington State. Michigan defeated Washington State 21–16.Meanwhile, undefeated #2 Nebraska squared off in the 1998 Orange Bowl versus the #3 ranked Tennessee Volunteers. The Cornhuskers made a point of smacking down Tennessee as they defeated the Volunteers 42-17. Unusually for the low-key Osborne and his straight-ahead team, after the game he campaigned openly for Nebraska to be named the consensus national champion (Grant Wistrom stated that if "they wanted to give it to Michigan because they haven't won one in 50 years, we don't want it anyway.").After the bowl games, the AP poll awarded the national championship to Michigan, and the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll awarded the national championship to Nebraska, giving Tom Osborne his third national title in four seasons to cap his career. This also marked the last time that a Big 10 (or Pac-10) team would be bound to play in the Rose Bowl instead of heading to a #1-#2 title game, due to the 1998 BCS realignment.Florida State went into their final regular season game ranked #1. However, Fred Taylor of Florida would run for 162 yards and four touchdowns on the nation's top-ranked run defense, one of those touchdowns being the winning score with less than two minutes to play. This game is commonly referred to as "The Greatest Game Ever Played in the Swamp". Florida State's loss opened the door for Tennessee's Orange Bowl bid to play against Nebraska.The Humanitarian Bowl, now known as the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, began play in Boise, Idaho to help publicise the dwindling Big West Conference and Boise State. The Broncos with their blue turf had just made the jump to Division I-A a year earlier. The Big West champion had formerly gone to the Las Vegas Bowl, but the now only 6 team conference wasn't much of a seat filler.The Motor City Bowl, now the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl, began play in Detroit hosted by a MAC team.The Copper Bowl gained corporate sponsorship and was now known as the Insight.com Bowl; it is now known as the Cactus Bowl.The MAC also grew to a 12-team, two-division conference with a championship game after the return of two former MAC members—Northern Illinois, returning from the independent ranks, and Marshall, moving up from Division I-AA. Marshall's addition increased the number of teams in Division I-A to 112. In a scenario similar to the Big West in 1992, this up-and-comer from I-AA was able to win its division and the inaugural conference championship game in its first year. To be fair, the Thundering Herd had gone unbeaten and won the I-AA national title the previous season, and had future NFL stars Randy Moss and Chad Pennington.

The following polls make up the 1997 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.

1997 NHL Eastern Conference Finals

The 1997 Norwegian First Division, Norway's second-tier football league, began play on 20 April 1997 and ended on 12 October 1997. The league was contested by 14 teams, and the top two teams won promotion to Tippeligaen, while the third placed played a promotion-playoff against the 12th-placed team in Tippeligaen to win promotion.

1997 Nottingham Open - Doubles

The 1997 Northeast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament was held in March. The tournament featured the league's ten teams, seeded based on their conference record. LIU Brooklyn won the championship, their second, and received the conference's automatic bid to the 1997 NCAA Tournament.

1997 Nike Tour graduates

1997 North Hollywood shootout

Olivier

The 1997 New York/New Jersey MetroStars season was the franchise's second year of existence and their second year in the top-tier of American soccer. The MetroStars played in Major League Soccer's Eastern Conference for the second consecutive season.The MetroStars failed to qualify for the playoffs by finishing fifth in the Eastern Conference. Outside of MLS play, the MetroStars reached the semfinals of the U.S. Open Cup. There, the MetroStars lost to eventual Open Cup champions, Dallas Burn.

1997–98 Scottish Cup

The 1997 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship was the 29th annual tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA men's collegiate water polo. Tournament matches were played at the International Swimming Hall of Fame Aquatics Complex in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, during December 1997.Pepperdine defeated USC in the final, 8–7 (in two overtimes), to win their first national title.

1997 National Football League Draft

Hiroki Mihara

1997 National Society of Film Critics Awards

The 1997 Nokia Open was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It is the 5th edition of the China Open, and is part of the World Series of the 1997 ATP Tour. The event was held at the Beijing International Tennis Center in Beijing, People's Republic of China. The event took place from September 29 to October 5.

Nationalist Movement Party Extraordinary Congress, 1997

1997 New York Giants season

1997 National League Championship Series

The 1997 New Zealand National Basketball League season was the 16th running of the competition. The early 1990s held dwindling fortunes New Zealand basketball, with TV coverage reduced, sponsorships dwindled and crowd numbers on the decline. At the end of the 1996 season, both the Wellington Saints and the Hutt Valley Lakers were struggling to survive. They amalgamated for the 1997 season and succeeded in signing a naming rights sponsorship deal with TransAlta.The Auckland Rebels won the championship in 1997 to claim their fifth league title, recording the first and so far only three-peat in the league's history. In what was another great year for the Tab Baldwin-coached Auckland side, a less than memorable moment occurred when the Canterbury Rams ruined Auckland's chance of a perfect season. Their only loss in 24 regular season games came at Cowles Stadium when American import Adrian Boyd was called for a contentious travelling call while going for an uncontested lay-up in the game's final seconds.

The 1997 Munster Senior Hurling Championship Final (sponsored by Guinness) was a hurling match played on Sunday 6 July 1997 at Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Cork. It was contested by Clare and Tipperary. Clare captained by Anthony Daly and managed by Ger Loughnane claimed the title beating Tipperary on a scoreline of 1-18 to 0-18. The match was shown live in Ireland as part of the Sunday Game live on RTÉ Two.The win was the first for Clare over Tipperary in a Munster final.

The Men's 1997 World Amateur Boxing Championships were held in Budapest, Hungary from October 18 to October 26. The ninth edition of this competition, a year after the Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, was organised by the world governing body for amateur boxing AIBA. The tournament saw the increase in the age limit of boxers from (32) years to (35) years of age.

The 1997 Northeast Louisiana Indians football team represented Northeast Louisiana University in the 1997 NCAA Division I-A college football season. The Indians offense scored 226 points while the defense allowed 319 points.

1997 NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship

The 1997 NCAA Division I Tennis Championships were the 51st annual championships to determine the national champions of NCAA Division I men's singles, doubles, and team collegiate tennis in the United States.Two-time defending champions Stanford defeated Georgia in the championship final, 4–0, to claim the Cardinal's third consecutive and fifteenth overall team national title.

1997 New England Patriots

1997 Nicholls State Colonels football

The 1997 North Queensland Cowboys season was the 3rd in the club's history. Coached by Tim Sheens and captained by Ian Roberts, they competed in the breakaway News Limited-run competition, the Telstra Cup.

1997 NCAA Division I-A football season

1997 NFL Season

Kenji Ito

1997 NCAA Division I FBS football season

1997 Navy Midshipmen football season

The 1997 Nike Tour season was the eighth season of the Nike Tour, the PGA Tour's official developmental tour, now known as the Web.com Tour. The top fifteen players on the final money list earned PGA Tour cards for 1998.

The 1997 NLL Draft composed of nine rounds where 72 lacrosse players.

The 1997 NBA draft took place on June 25, 1997, in Charlotte, North Carolina. Although the Boston Celtics had the second-worst record in the 1996–97 season and the best odds (36 percent) of winning the lottery with two picks, the Spurs, usually a model of winning and consistency, lost David Robinson and Sean Elliott to injury early in the season, finished with the third-worst record, and subsequently won the lottery.

The 1997 Oklahoma State Cowboys football team represented Oklahoma State University during the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. They participated as members of the Big 12 Conference in the South Division. They played their home games at Lewis Field in Stillwater, Oklahoma. They were coached by head coach Bob Simmons.

1997 Oakland Raiders football team

NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship

1997 New York Underground Film Festival

1997 Nationalist Movement Party Extraordinary Congress
The 1997 Nationalist Movement Party Extraordinary Congress referred to two party conventions held by the Nationalist Movement Party (Turkish: Milliyetçi Hareket Partisi - MHP), a far-right ultranationalist political party in Turkey, following the death of their first leader Alparslan Türkeş. The first congress was held on 18 May 1997, where six candidates ran for the party leadership. Türkeş's eldest son, Tuğrul Türkeş emerged with a plurality of the vote while Devlet Bahçeli came second. The remaining candidates subsequently withdrew in support for Bahçeli, resulting in violence breaking out between party members supporting rival candidates. The second round was subsequently delayed until 6 July.In their campaign speeches, Türkeş attacked Bahçeli for allegedly disrespecting the legacy of his father, whereas Bahçeli claimed that Türkeş's supporters did not have a place in the party. Devlet Bahçeli was elected in the second round with 697 delegates' votes as opposed to Türkeş's 483, prompting Türkeş to resign from the party and establish the Bright Turkey Party (ATP) in 1998. The ATP was dissolved in 2010 after Türkeş rejoined the MHP in 2007 and became a Member of Parliament for Istanbul in the 2007 general election.

1997 New Mexico Lobos football

The 1997 Norwegian Football Cup Final was the final match of the 1997 Norwegian Football Cup, the 92nd season of the Norwegian Football Cup, the premier Norwegian football cup competition organized by the Football Association of Norway (NFF). The match was played on 26 October 1997 at the Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo, and was contested between the First Division side Vålerenga and the Tippeligaen side Strømsgodset.

The New York Mets' 1997 season was the 36th regular season for the Mets. They went 88-74 and finished 3rd in the NL East. They were managed by Bobby Valentine. They played home games at Shea Stadium.

1997 Norwegian First Division

1998-99 Indian cricket season

1997 New Zealand rugby league season

1997 New York Jets

1997 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans

1997 New Year Honours

1997 Norwegian Second Division

The Consensus 1997 College Basketball All-American team, as determined by aggregating the results of three 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 and the National Association of Basketball Coaches.

1997 Ole Miss Rebels football

1997 NLL Draft

The 1997 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament began with 56 teams and ended on December 20, 1997, when Stanford defeated Penn State 3 games to 2 in the NCAA championship match.Stanford won their second straight title and 4th in 6 years. After winning the first two games 15-10, 15-6, Penn State forced a fifth game as the Nittany Lions won the next two 15-2, 17-15.

1997 Nokia Open - Singles

1997 Northeast Louisiana Indians football

Kotaro Yamazaki

The 1997 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame in the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Bob Davie and played its home games at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana.

The 1997 World Archery Championships was the 39th edition of the World Archery Championships. The event was held in Victoria, British Columbia from 19–23 August 1997 and was organized by World Archery Federation (FITA).

1997 Northwestern Wildcats football

The 1997 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships were the 59th annual NCAA Men's Division I Cross Country Championship and the 17th annual NCAA Women's Division I Cross Country Championship to determine the team and individual national champions of NCAA Division I men's and women's collegiate cross country running in the United States.

1997 NECBL season

1997 NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament

1997 Navy Midshipmen football

1997 Northeast Louisiana Indians football team

The 1997 NCAA Rifle Championships were contested at the 18th annual competition to determine the team and individual national champions of NCAA co-ed collegiate rifle shooting in the United States. The championship was hosted by Murray State University in Murray, Kentucky.Two-time defending champions West Virginia once again topped the team standings, finishing 48 points ahead of Kentuckye. This was the Mountaineers' twelfth team title.The individual champions were, for the smallbore rifle, Marcos Scrivner (West Virginia), and Marra Hastings (Murray State), for the air rifle.

The 1997 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament began with 56 teams and ended on December 20, 1997, when Stanford defeated Penn State 3 games to 2 in the NCAA championship match.Stanford won their second straight title and 4th in 6 years. After winning the first two games 15-10, 15-6, Penn State forced a fifth game as the Nittany Lions won the next two 15-2, 17-15. In the decisive fifth game, Stanford jumped out to the 12-8 lead before Kristin Folkl recorded the final three kills for the 15-9 win. Stanford finished the year 33-2, with their only two losses coming from Penn State in the early season.The 1997 NCAA tournament was the first, and would be the last, year with 56 tournament teams, as it was expanded from 48 teams (1993-1996). In 1998, the tournament would be expanded to its present-day 64 tournament teams.

Kei Taniguchi

The 32nd National Society of Film Critics Awards, given on 3 January 1998, honored the best filmmaking of 1997.

The 1997 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships were contested June 4−7 at Billy Hayes Track at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana in order to determine the individual and team national champions of men's and women's collegiate Division I outdoor track and field events in the United States.These were the 75th annual men's championships and the 16th annual women's championships.

The 1997 NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament was the 28th annual tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA men's collegiate volleyball. The single-elimination tournament was played at St. John Arena in Columbus, Ohio, during May 1997.Stanford defeated UCLA in the final match, 3–2 (15–7, 15–10, 9–15, 6–15, 15–13), to win their first national title. The Cardinal (27–4) were coached by Ruben Nieves.Stanford's Mike Lambert was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Lambert, along with five other players, comprised the All-Tournament Team.

1997 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament

The 1997 New England Patriots season was the 28th season for the team in the National Football League and 38th season overall. They finished the season with a 10–6 record and a division title but lost in the playoffs to the Pittsburgh Steelers.In January, when the Patriots were preparing to face the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XXXI, it was suspected head coach Bill Parcells was looking to move to another team after the game where he would have more say over personnel matters.

1997 NHL Draft

1997 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship

The 1997 Oakland Raiders season was the club's 38th season in the NFL. Led by Joe Bugel, the club finished with a 4–12 record, a mark which marked the worst finish for the Raiders since 1962; when they won only once in the final season before the arrival of Al Davis. The Raiders missed the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season.

1998-99 Indian National Football League

1997 Newsweek Champions Cup - Singles

The Oakland Athletics' 1997 season was the team's 30th in Oakland, California. It was also the 97th season in franchise history. The team finished fourth in the American League West with a record of 65-97.The Athletics, coming off a surprising (if still mediocre) 78-84 campaign, hoped to reach the playoffs for the first time since 1992. With this in mind, the team traded for slugger Jose Canseco. Canseco, who had played for the Athletics from 1985 to 1992, was reunited with fellow superstar (and fellow "Bash Brother") Mark McGwire. In addition to McGwire and Canseco, Oakland's impressive collection of power hitters included Jason Giambi, Gerónimo Berroa, and Matt Stairs.Little was done, however, to shore up the Athletics' abysmal 1996 pitching staff. Ariel Prieto, owner of a 4.41 career ERA (Earned Run Average), was named the Opening Day starter; a succession of poorly regarded players filled out the rest of the starting rotation and bullpen. While optimism remained high for the team's offense, great concern remained for its pitching staff.In the end, Oakland's offense and pitching both fared terribly. For the second consecutive year, no Athletics pitcher won ten or more games; even worse, no starter won more than six. None of the team's top four starters (Ariel Prieto, Steve Karsay, Mike Oquist, and Dave Telgheder) finished the season with an ERA of less than 5.00; the Athletics, as a team, finished with an earned run average of 5.48 (easily the MLB's worst). All told, the A's allowed a season total of 946 runs. This remains the worst such figure in Oakland history.More puzzling was the fate of the offense. Oakland, as expected, remained one of the league's best power-hitting teams. The Athletics' sluggers hit a total of 197 home runs (third-most in the American League). Oakland's home runs failed to generate much offense, however, as a low team batting average negated most of the team's other advantages. Oakland scored a total of 764 runs in 1997 (the 11th highest total in the American League).These awful performances quickly removed the A's from contention. On May 31, they were already nine games out of first place; their position steadily worsened throughout the summer. In light of this, General Manager Sandy Alderson traded Mark McGwire (who, at the time, was on pace to break Roger Maris' single-season home run record) to the St. Louis Cardinals for T.J. Matthews, Blake Stein, and Eric Ludwick. McGwire would finish the season with 58 home runs (four shy of breaking the record). The trade was a disaster on the Athletics' end, as none of the three players received in the trade remained on the team by 2000. The A's ultimately finished twenty-five games behind the first-place Seattle Mariners. Their 65-97 finish (the club's worst since 1979) led to the removal of Sandy Alderson as General Manager on October 17; he was replaced by Billy Beane. Manager Art Howe, however, was retained for the 1998 season.The 1997 season would ultimately prove to be the Athletics' nadir. The continued rise of Jason Giambi, the debuts of Ben Grieve and Miguel Tejada, the acquisition of Tim Hudson in the 1997 MLB draft, and the ascension of Billy Beane to the position of general manager paved the way for a lengthy period of success from 1999 onwards.

1997 Northeast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament

The 1997 New Mexico Lobos football team represented the University of New Mexico in the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Lobos were led by sixth-year head coach Dennis Franchione, in his final year with the team, and played their home games at University Stadium in Albuquerque, New Mexico. They finished the regular season atop the Mountain Division of the Western Athletic Conference with a 6–2 conference record, and lost to Colorado State in the 1997 WAC Championship Game. New Mexico was invited to the 1997 Insight.com Bowl, their first bowl game since 1961, where they lost to Arizona, 14–20.The season is also notable for the Lobos because their brief appearance in the Coaches' Poll in Week 15 is the last time that the team has been featured in either the Coaches' Poll or the AP Poll, as of 2016.

1997 New England Patriots football team

The 1997 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament was played at the end of the 1997 NCAA Division I baseball season to determine the national champion of college baseball. The tournament concluded with eight teams competing in the College World Series, a double-elimination tournament in its fifty first year. Eight regional competitions were held to determine the participants in the final event. Each region was composed of six teams, resulting in 48 teams participating in the tournament at the conclusion of their regular season, and in some cases, after a conference tournament. The fifty-first tournament's champion was LSU, coached by Skip Bertman. The Most Outstanding Player was Brandon Larson of LSU.

The 1997 Nottingham Open was an ATP tournament held in Nottingham, Great Britain. The tournament was held from 16 June to 22 June.Greg Rusedski won his first title of the year and the sixth of his career.

The 1997 National Invitation Tournament was the 1997 edition of the annual NCAA college basketball competition. Michigan's tournament victory was later vacated due to players Robert Traylor and Louis Bullock being ruled ineligible by the NCAA. Traylor also vacated his tournament Most Valuable Player award.

The 1997 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship was the 16th annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of Division I NCAA women's college lacrosse. The championship game was played at Goodman Stadium in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania during May 1997. All NCAA Division I women's lacrosse programs were eligible for this championship.

1997 NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament

1997 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football season

1997 Nottingham Open – Singles

The 1997 NCAA Women's Gymnastics championship involved 12 schools competing for the national championship of women's NCAA Division I gymnastics. It was the sixteenth NCAA gymnastics national championship and the defending NCAA Team Champion for 1996 was Alabama. The competition took place in Gainesville, Florida, hosted by the University of Florida in the O'Connell Center. The 1997 Championship was won by UCLA, their first title and the first title not won by Utah, Georgia or Alabama.

1997 NLCS

1997 Navy Midshipmen football team

The 1997 National Hockey League All-Star Game took place on January 18, 1997, at San Jose Arena in San Jose, home of the San Jose Sharks. The final score was Eastern Conference 11, Western Conference 7. This game was originally scheduled for the 1994–95 season, but was cancelled due to the 1994–95 NHL lockout.

1997 Nehru Cup

1997 Nicholls State Colonels football season

1997 NCAA Tournament

The 1997 Nehru Cup was held in Kochi, India. The Nehru Cup is an international association football tournament, organised by the All India Football Federation, which was launched in 1982. Participating nations in 1997 were Iraq, China, India, Ghana and Uzbekistan. The winner of the Nehru Cup was Iraq, whilst India did not record a single win, in drawing three matches and losing one. In the semi final match, more than 60,000 tickets were sold.

1997 NBA All-Star Weekend

1997 Northern Illinois Huskies football team

1997 NHL Western Conference Finals

On 13 September 1997, a German Air Force Tupolev Tu-154M observation aircraft and a United States Air Force C-141B Starlifter transport aircraft were destroyed in a mid-air collision while cruising at 35,000 feet (11,000 m) off the coast of Namibia. All 33 people on board both aircraft were killed. At the time of the collision, the Tupolev was flying on a southerly route from Niamey, Niger, to Cape Town, South Africa, while the C-141 was heading northwest from Windhoek, Namibia, to Ascension Island.Although both crews had filed a flight plan, the German aircraft was not in contact with Namibian air traffic control and controllers were unaware of its presence in Namibian airspace. Furthermore, the jet was flying 4,000 ft (1,200 m) below the cruise altitude filed in the flight plan, and neither aircraft was equipped with TCAS collision avoidance systems. The subsequent US Air Force inquiry concluded that the German crew was responsible for the accident, citing pilot error and inadequate air traffic control which contributed to the fatal lack of separation. A year before the accident, the International Federation of Airline Pilots' Associations had declared 90 percent of African airspace as "critically deficient."

1997 Nokia Sugar Bowl

The 1997 Nebelhorn Trophy was the Nebelhorn Trophy of the 1997–98 Olympic year figure skating season. The Nebelhorn Trophy is an international senior-level figure skating competition organized by the Deutsche Eislauf-Union and held annually in Oberstdorf, Germany. The competition is named after the Nebelhorn, a nearby mountain.It was one of the first international senior competitions of the season.

The 1997 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament (also known as the 1997 NCAA Women's College Cup) was the 16th 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 the UNCG Soccer Stadium in Greensboro, North Carolina during December 1997.North Carolina defeated Connecticut in the final, 2–0, to win their fourteenth national title. Coached by Anson Dorrance, the Tar Heels finished the season 27–0–1.The Most Outstanding Offensive Player was Robin Confer from North Carolina, and the Most Outstanding Defensive Player was Siri Mullinix, also from North Carolina. Confer and Mullinix, along with twelve other players, were named to the All-tournament team.The tournament's leading scorer, with 5 goals, was Sara Whalen from Connecticut.

The 1997 NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament was played at the end of the 1997 NCAA Division III baseball season to determine the 22nd national champion of college baseball at the NCAA Division III level. The tournament concluded with eight teams competing at Salem Memorial Ballpark in Salem, Virginia for the championship. Eight regional tournaments were held to determine the participants in the World Series.

1997 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship

1997 Nebraska Cornhuskers football season

1997 NFL draft

The 1997 National League Division Series (NLDS), the opening round of the 1997 National League playoffs, began on Tuesday, September 30, and ended on Friday, October 3, with the champions of the three NL divisions—along with a "wild card" team—participating in two best-of-five series. They were:(1) San Francisco Giants (Western Division champions, 90–72) vs. (4) Florida Marlins (Wild Card, 92–70): Marlins win series, 3–0.(2) Houston Astros (Central Division champions, 84–78) vs.

The 1997 NCAA Division II football rankings are from the NCAA Division II football committee. This is for the 1997 season.

On 13 September 1997, a German Air Force Tupolev Tu-154M observation aircraft and a United States Air Force C-141B Starlifter transport aircraft were destroyed in a mid-air collision while cruising at 35,000 feet (11,000 m) off the coast of Namibia. All 33 people on board both aircraft were killed.

1997 New York Liberty season

The 1997 North Carolina Tar Heels football team represented the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill during the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Tar Heels played their home games at Kenan Memorial Stadium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and competed in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

1997 NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championships

The 1997 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship was the 29th annual tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA men's collegiate water polo. Tournament matches were played at the International Swimming Hall of Fame Aquatics Complex in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, during December 1997.Pepperdine defeated USC in the final, 8–7 (in two overtimes), to win their first national title. The Waves (25–3) were coached by Terry Schroeder.The Most Outstanding Players of the tournament, all from Pepperdine, were Alan Herrmann, Merrill Moses, and Jeremy Pope. The All-Tournament Team comprised these three, along with four other players.The tournament's leading scorer, with 6 goals, was Pope from Pepperdine.Queens (NY) became the first team from outside the state of California to finish third place in an NCAA men's water polo tournament. The Knights defeated UC Davis in the third-place final, 5–3.

Tetsuo Nakanishi

1997 North Carolina Tar Heels football

1997 Norwegian Football Cup

1997 Nokia Open – Singles

The 1997 National League Division Series (NLDS), the opening round of the 1997 National League playoffs, began on Tuesday, September 30, and ended on Friday, October 3, with the champions of the three NL divisions—along with a "wild card" team—participating in two best-of-five series. They were:(1) San Francisco Giants (Western Division champions, 90–72) vs. (4) Florida Marlins (Wild Card, 92–70): Marlins win series, 3–0.(2) Houston Astros (Central Division champions, 84–78) vs. (3) Atlanta Braves (Eastern Division champions, 101–61): Braves win series, 3–0.The higher seed (in parentheses) had the home field advantage, which was not tied to playing record but was predetermined—a highly unpopular arrangement which was discontinued after the conclusion of the 1997 playoffs. Also, the team with home field "advantage" was required to play the first two games on the road, with potentially the last three at home, in order to reduce travel. Had the 1997 NLDS been played under the 1998-2011 arrangement, then Atlanta (1) would still have faced off against Houston (3) and San Francisco (2) would likewise have faced off against the wild card winners in Florida (4). Under the format adopted in 2012, which removed the prohibition against teams from the same division meeting in the Division Series, the matchups instead would have been Atlanta-Florida and San Francisco-Houston, with the Braves and Giants having home field advantage.The Atlanta Braves and Florida Marlins went on to meet in the NL Championship Series (NLCS). The Marlins became the National League champions, and defeated the American League champion Cleveland Indians in the 1997 World Series.

1997 North Carolina Tar Heels football season

The 1997 Oceania Junior Women's Handball Championship, was the first official competition for junior women's national handball teams from Oceania. It was held from December 11–12, 1998 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It also acted as the qualifying competition for the 1997 IHF Women's Junior World Championship, securing one Vacancy for the World Championship.Australia and New Zealand played a two-game series to determine the winner.

1997 Newsweek Champions Cup – Doubles

1997 Nebraska vs. Missouri football game

1997 Omloop Het Volk

1997 Oklahoma State Cowboys football season

The 1997 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament was the sixteenth annual tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA women's collegiate softball. Held during May 1997, thirty-two Division I college softball teams contested the championship. The tournament featured eight regionals of four teams, each in a double elimination format.
The 1997 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament was the sixteenth annual tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA women's collegiate softball. Held during May 1997, thirty-two Division I college softball teams contested the championship. The tournament featured eight regionals of four teams, each in a double elimination format. The 1997 Women's College World Series was held in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma from May 22 through May 26 and marked the conclusion of the 1997 NCAA Division I softball season. The event returned to Oklahoma City after a one year hiatus, and it has remained there ever since. Arizona won their fifth NCAA championship by defeating UCLA 10–2 in the final game. Arizona pitcher Nancy Evans was named Women's College World Series Most Outstanding Player.

1997 New Orleans Saints football team

The 1997 Nationalist Movement Party Extraordinary Congress referred to two party conventions held by the Nationalist Movement Party (Turkish: Milliyetçi Hareket Partisi - MHP), a far-right ultranationalist political party in Turkey, following the death of their first leader Alparslan Türkeş. The first congress was held on 18 May 1997, where six candidates ran for the party leadership. Türkeş's eldest son, Tuğrul Türkeş emerged with a plurality of the vote while Devlet Bahçeli came second.

1997 National Games of the People's Republic of China

1997 Norwegian Premier League

1997 North Queensland Cowboys season

1997 National Summer Soccer League

1997 New York Giants

The 1997 NBA draft took place on June 25, 1997, in Charlotte, North Carolina. Although the Boston Celtics had the second-worst record in the 1996–97 season and the best odds (36 percent) of winning the lottery with two picks, the Spurs, usually a model of winning and consistency, lost David Robinson and Sean Elliott to injury early in the season, finished with the third-worst record, and subsequently won the lottery. Leading up to the draft, there was no doubt that Tim Duncan would be selected at No. 1 by the Spurs, and the rest of the draft was regarded with some skepticism. The Celtics had the third and sixth picks, selecting Chauncey Billups and Ron Mercer, both of whom were traded in the next two years.The Washington Wizards forfeited their 1997 first-round pick in connection with the signing of Juwan Howard. (Washington would have had the 17th pick.) Thus, the draft only had 28 first-round selections and 57 selections overall.

1997 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

1997 OFC U-20 Championship

1997 National Hurling League

1997 North Carolina Tar Heels football team

1997 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships

1997 NCAA Division I-A football rankings

The New Year Honours 1997 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countries.

The 1997 New England Patriots season was the 28th season for the team in the National Football League and 38th season overall. They finished the season with a 10–6 record and a division title but lost in the playoffs to the Pittsburgh Steelers.In January, when the Patriots were preparing to face the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XXXI, it was suspected head coach Bill Parcells was looking to move to another team after the game where he would have more say over personnel matters. In the 1996 NFL Draft, Parcells' relationship with owner Robert Kraft soured when Kraft selected wide receiver Terry Glenn against Parcells' wishes. After the Patriots' loss in Super Bowl XXXI, Parcells resigned from the Patriots, using the phrase "If they want you to cook the dinner, at least they ought to let you shop for some of the groceries." Due to an earlier renegotiation that had eliminated the 1997 season from Parcells' contract, NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue ruled Parcells could not be a head coach for another team in 1997. Parcells instead moved to the New York Jets as a "consultant", taking assistant head coach Bill Belichick with him to be the Jets' head coach; Kraft called this a "transparent farce" and accused the Jets of tampering with Parcells. The NFL ruled in the Patriots' favor and the Patriots received third and fourth-round picks in the 1997 NFL Draft, a second-round pick in the 1998 NFL Draft, and a first-round pick in the 1999 NFL Draft in compensation for allowing Parcells to become the Jets' head coach.Taking Parcells' place with the Patriots was Pete Carroll, who had coincidentally been the Jets' head coach in 1994. The Patriots began the season 5–1 but featured a 6–5 record later in the season. The Patriots managed to finish 10–6 and first in the AFC East for the second straight season. With the third seed in the AFC playoffs, the Patriots defeated the Miami Dolphins 17-3 in the Wild Card Game but were defeated by the Pittsburgh Steelers, 7–6, on the road the next week.

1997 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament

1997 NIT

1997 Namibia mid-air collision

1997 NCAA Division I-AA football rankings

Masahiro Koga

1997 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships

1997 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championship

1997 Oder Flood

1997 Oakland Athletics season

1997 National League Division Series

1997 Ohio Bobcats football

Ken Ishikawa

The 1997 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Tournament was the 27th 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.The championship game was played at Maryland's Byrd Stadium in front of 25,317 fans, The game saw the Princeton University defeat University of Maryland by the score of 19–7.

1997 National Invitation Tournament

The Oakland Athletics' 1997 season was the team's 30th in Oakland, California. It was also the 97th season in franchise history. The team finished fourth in the American League West with a record of 65-97.The Athletics, coming off a surprising (if still mediocre) 78-84 campaign, hoped to reach the playoffs for the first time since 1992. With this in mind, the team traded for slugger Jose Canseco.

1997 Northwestern Wildcats football season

1997 Newsweek Champions Cup - Doubles

1997 NBA Draft

1997 Oklahoma Sooners football

The 1997 Nebelhorn Trophy was the Nebelhorn Trophy of the 1997–98 Olympic year figure skating season. The Nebelhorn Trophy is an international senior-level figure skating competition organized by the Deutsche Eislauf-Union and held annually in Oberstdorf, Germany. The competition is named after the Nebelhorn, a nearby mountain.It was one of the first international senior competitions of the season. Skaters were entered by their respective national federations, rather than receiving individual invitations as in the Grand Prix of Figure Skating, and competed in four disciplines: men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. The Fritz-Geiger-Memorial Trophy was presented to the country with the highest placements across all disciplines.The 1997 Nebelhorn Trophy took place between August 26 and 29, 1997.

1997 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament

1997 NLDS

The 1997 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship was the 16th annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of Division I NCAA women's college lacrosse. The championship game was played at Goodman Stadium in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania during May 1997. All NCAA Division I women's lacrosse programs were eligible for this championship. This year, the tournament field expanded from 6 to 8 teams, the first expansion since 1986.Maryland defeated Loyola Maryland, 8–7, to win their fifth and third consecutive, national championship. This would subsequently become the third of Maryland's record seven straight national titles (1995–2001).The leading scorers for the tournament, each with 10 goals, were Amy Fine from North Carolina and Kerri Johnson from Loyola (MD). The Most Outstanding Player trophy was not awarded this year, although it would be reintroduced in 1998.

Mitsunori Yamao

1997 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship

1997 National Basketball Association Draft

NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship

1997 National Basketball Association All-Star Game

NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament

1997 National Football League season

1997 NHK Trophy

1997 NCAA Rifle Championships

1997–1998 Junior Grand Prix

The 1997 NCAA Rifle Championships were contested at the 18th annual competition to determine the team and individual national champions of NCAA co-ed collegiate rifle shooting in the United States. The championship was hosted by Murray State University in Murray, Kentucky.Two-time defending champions West Virginia once again topped the team standings, finishing 48 points ahead of Kentuckye.

The 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season, play of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division I-A level, began in late summer 1997 and culminated with the major bowl games in early January 1998. The national championship was split for the third time in the 1990s.

1997 Nokia Open