MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL, MN - The Minnesota Twins and University of St. Thomas today announced that the University of St. Thomas football team will host Saint John's University on September 23, 2017 at 1:00 p.m. at Target Field. The NCAA Division III matchup, which will be a St. Thomas home game, will be the first-ever football game played at Target Field, home of the Minnesota Twins.
"The Twins organization is honored and excited to be hosting one of Minnesota's great sports traditions - the St. Thomas-Saint John's football game - at Target Field," Twins President Dave St. Peter said. "As the first-ever football game at Target Field, the historic Tommie-Johnnie rivalry should help create a special experience for the players, coaches and most importantly - the fans. We cannot wait for kickoff."
The rivalry between the University of St. Thomas and Saint John's University football teams dates back to 1901. Since then, the schools have met 86 times and continually set NCAA Division III record attendance marks. Six of the top 14 all-time Division III attendance marks have involved the St. Thomas-Saint John's rivalry. Since 1901, only six of the 86 games have been played off-campus, including the 1901 and 1908 games at Lexington Park in St. Paul, Hamline University in 1909, St. Cloud Tech High School in 1945 and the Metrodome in 1996 and 1997. The Tommie-Johnnie rivalry has featured at least one Division III top-10 ranked team in 11 of the past 12 seasons and regularly attracts more than 10,000 spectators. The 2015 game, won by UST 35-14, drew an NCAA Division III-record crowd of 17,327.
"Target Field is a spectacular venue, said University of St. Thomas Athletic Director Steve Fritz. "The opportunity to hold our 2017 game against Saint John's there will add another fun chapter to what's one of the country's best college football rivalries."
"We're excited for many reasons," added St. Thomas Head Football Coach Glenn Caruso. "What a great opportunity to play the nation's biggest Division III rivalry game in a venue such as Target Field. It not only allows us to highlight both proud institutions and our tremendous history, but it also lets us bring the game to a much larger game-day audience."
"We are excited to see this great rivalry brought to one of the greatest athletic facilities anywhere," Saint John's University Athletic Director Bob Alpers said. "What a treat this will be for the student-athletes, coaches and fans."
"The Saint John's-St. Thomas rivalry is one of the best in all of college football," added Saint John's head coach Gary Fasching. "Our players, coaches and fans are excited that Target Field will be the site of the next chapter in this storied rivalry."
Ticketing Information
Tickets for the game will go on sale to the general public beginning December 13, 2016, with a special presale opportunity on December 6, 2016 for University of St. Thomas, Saint John's University and Minnesota Twins stakeholders. General seating tickets to the event will range from $15-35 for the 1:00 p.m. game (Gates open at 11:00 a.m.). Approximately 2,000 student section tickets for each university will be held and made available during the summer of 2017 at a cost of $10 per student. Student section seating map is attached to this press release.
Tickets for the September 23, 2017 football game will only be available through the Minnesota Twins ticket office. Fans can purchase tickets by visiting twinsbaseball.com/football, calling 612-33-TWINS or 800-33-TWINS, or visiting the Target Field ticket office or Twins Pro Shop locations in Apple Valley, Minnetonka and Roseville.