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Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a fun one, especially if you know your college team names. If you’re struggling with the puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.
Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.
Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta
Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups
Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.
Yellow group hint: Workout time.
Green group hint: Pahk the cah in Hahvahd Yahd.
Blue group hint: Same first name.
Purple group hint: On your mark, get set…
Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups
Yellow group: Muscles, informally.
Green group: Ivy League team nicknames.
Blue group: Jonathans.
Purple group: ____ start.
Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words
What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?
The completed NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for May 11, 2026.
The yellow words in today’s Connections
The theme is muscles, informally. The four answers are ab, pec, quad and trap.
The green words in today’s Connections
The theme is Ivy League team nicknames. The four answers are Big Green, Crimson, Lions and Quakers.
The blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is Jonathans. The four answers are Kuminga, Quick, Taylor and Vilma.
The purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is ____ start. The four answers are false, kick, quality and spot.