Editing Hickory, North Carolina (section)

===Sports===
[[File:L. P. Frans Stadium 2004.jpg|thumb|right|[[L.P. Frans Stadium]], home of the [[Hickory Crawdads]]]]
Hickory is home to the [[Hickory Crawdads]], the [[Single-A]] [[Minor League Baseball]] affiliate of the [[Texas Rangers (baseball)|Texas Rangers]] of the [[Carolina League]].<ref>{{cite press release|date=July 23, 2024|title=South Atlantic, Carolina Leagues to realign in 2025|url=https://www.milb.com/news/minor-league-baseball-announces-realignment-of-south-atlantic-and-carolina-leagues|work=Minor League Baseball|access-date=July 23, 2024}}</ref> The Crawdads play at [[L.P. Frans Stadium]], located in the western portion of the city, near the Hickory Regional Airport.

Hickory is also home to the [[Hickory Motor Speedway]]. The speedway was opened in 1951 and features a 1/2-mile track with seating for approximately 5,000 spectators.

[[Lenoir-Rhyne University]], whose teams have the nickname "Bears", participates within [[NCAA Division II]] athletics in the [[South Atlantic Conference]]. The university's athletics program includes teams in baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track and field, triathlon, and volleyball.<ref>[https://lrbears.com/ Lenoir-Rhyne University Athletics]. ''lrbears.com''. Retrieved February 6, 2020.</ref>