NFC Central The NFC North is a division of the National Football League ' s National Football Conference , based in the Upper Midwest region of the United States . It currently has four members : the Chicago Bears , Detroit Lions , Green Bay Packers , and Minnesota Vikings . The division was created in 1967 as the Central Division of the NFL ' s Western Conference and existed for three seasons before the AFL – NFL merger . After the merger , it was renamed the NFC Central and retained that name until the NFL split into eight divisions in 2002 . The four teams have been together in the same division or conference since the Vikings joined the league in 1961 . The Bears , Lions and Packers have been in the same division or conference since the NFL began a conference format in 1933 . Based on the ages of its teams , the NFC North is the oldest division in the NFL , at a combined 312 years old . The Bears are 92 years old ( founded in 1919 in Decatur , Illinois ; moved to Chicago in 1921 ) , the Packers are also 92 years old ( founded in 1919 , but turned professional in 1921 ) , the Lions are 82 years old ( founded 1929 in Portsmouth , Ohio ; moved to Detroit in 1934 ) , and the Vikings are 50 years old ( founded 1961 ) . The division has a total of 11 Super Bowl appearances . The Packers have the most appearances in the Super bowl with 5 , the most recent happening in 2011 . The Bears and the Packers have the only Super Bowl wins of this division , a total of 5 ( 4 for the Packers and 1 for the Bears ) . Of the top 5 NFL teams with the highest winning percentage throughout its franchise history , three of them are in the NFC North ( the Bears , the Packers and the Vikings ) . The Lions however , have one of the lowest winning percentages in the NFL , including the only winless 16 - game season in NFL history . This division earned the moniker " Black and Blue Division " due to its intense rivalries and physical style of play , and this nickname is still used regularly today . It is also known as the " Frostbite Division " as all teams played home games in late season winter cold until the mid 1970s . The division is also humorously called the " Frozen North " , although two of its teams , Detroit and Minnesota , have played their home games indoors since 1975 and 1982 respectively . ESPN sportscaster Chris Berman often refers to this division as the " NFC Norris " because of its geographical similarity to the National Hockey League ' s old Norris Division . The NFC North ' s geography has been compared to that of a college conference since all four of its home cities lie within the territorial boundaries of the NCAA ' s Big Ten Conference . Division lineups . 1967 – 76 ( as WC / NFC Central ) The Western Conference respectively divided into the Coastal and Central divisions . The Central Division consists of Chicago , Detroit , Green Bay , and Minnesota . Starting the 1970 season , this division became National Football Conference ' s Central division ( or NFC Central for short ) , due to the AFL – NFL merger . 1977 – 2001 ( as NFC Central ) Tampa Bay moved in from AFC West . 2002 – present Tampa Bay moved to NFC South . NFC Central renamed NFC North . Division champions . < nowiki > + < / nowiki > A players ' strike in 1982 reduced the regular season to nine games , so the league used a special 16 - team playoff tournament just for this year . Division standings were ignored , Green Bay had the best record of the division teams . < nowiki > * < / nowiki > The 2010 Chicago Bears lost the NFC Conference Championship game against division rival Green Bay , who went on to win Super Bowl XLV . Wild Card qualifiers . < nowiki > + < / nowiki > A players ' strike in 1982 reduced the regular season to nine games , so the league used a special 16 - team playoff tournament just for this year .