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NYT Connections Sports Edition: Hints and Answers for September 5, 2026

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Puzzle #712 If you follow college football, today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle will feel familiar. This daily word game from The New...

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Puzzle #712

If you follow college football, today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle will feel familiar. This daily word game from The New York Times, developed in partnership with The Athletic, challenges sports fans to find the common threads between 16 words. Like the original Connections, the puzzle resets after midnight, and each new set gets progressively trickier.

Below you’ll find hints, category clues, and the full solution for Connections: Sports Edition #712. If you’d rather solve it yourself, use the hints first. The answers are waiting at the end.

What Is Connections: Sports Edition?

The NYT’s latest daily word game launches in association with The Athletic, the Times’ sports coverage brand. Playable on web browsers and mobile devices, the game tasks players with grouping four words that share a common theme. Each puzzle features 16 words split into four categories. Categories can span anything from team names and player stats to stadiums and historic moments.

There is only one correct grouping per set. Guess a correct group, and those words disappear from the board. Guess wrong, and it counts as a mistake — players get up to four mistakes before the game ends. You can also shuffle the board to spot connections more easily. Groups are color-coded by difficulty: yellow (easiest), green, blue, and purple (hardest). Results are shareable on social media, just like Wordle.

Related: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable

Hints for Today’s Connections: Sports Edition Categories

Want a nudge without seeing the categories outright? Try these thematic clues:

  • Yellow: East coast conference
  • Green: Southern cities
  • Blue: Pro Tigers
  • Purple: School icons

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition Categories

Need a little more help? Here are the exact categories for puzzle #712:

  • Yellow: ACC Schools
  • Green: SEC School Locations
  • Blue: LSU Alumni in NFL
  • Purple: Live College Football Mascots

Related: Wordle-obsessed? These are the best word games to play IRL.

Solution for Connections: Sports Edition #712

This is your last chance to turn back and solve the puzzle before we reveal the answers.

ACC Schools: CLEMSON, LOUISVILLE, STANFORD, VIRGINIA

SEC School Locations: BATON ROUGE, COLUMBIA, NORMAN, STARKVILLE

LSU Alumni in NFL: BURROW, CHASE, DANIELS, JEFFERSON

Live College Football Mascots: RALPHIE, REVEILLE, SMOKEY, UGA

Don’t feel down if you didn’t crack it this time. A new sports Connections puzzle arrives tomorrow, and we’ll be back with more hints and strategies.

More Daily Puzzles

Tina Noma

Penulis

Tina Noma covers celebrity news, pop culture and the personalities driving the conversation. She looks beyond the headline to add clear context to the latest entertainment stories.