Target Field To Host St. Thomas-St. John's Rivalry Game
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Next year, the football rivalry between the University of St. Thomas and St. John's University will be decided, for the first time, at Target Field in downtown Minneapolis.
In a joint press release on Monday, St. Thomas and the Twins announced that the Tommie-Johnnie match-up will take place on Sept. 23, 2017. The game will be considered a St. Thomas home game (the school has a campus in downtown Minneapolis, where the Twins' home is located), and the contest will be the first-ever football game played at Target Field.
"[The Tomme-Johnnie rivalry is] one of the great sports traditions in our state," President of the Minnesota Twins Dave St. Peter said at a press conference. "If we were gonna play football here, I think the first game it was important that we had a strong connection to Minnesota."
St. Peter said talks about hosting a rivalry match at Target Field started years ago.
The St. Thomas-St. John's rivalry dates back to 1901, and, since then, the NCAA Division III schools have squared off against each other 86 times, continually setting record attendance marks.
St. Thomas won this year's match-up, which was played in Collegeville, 33-21. At the time, the Tommies were ranked No. 4 in Division III and St. John's was ranked No. 6. The Johnnies are now No. 10 in the nation.
The two teams also faced off twice last year. ESPN brought its "SportsCenter on the Road" show to Collegeville in the regular season, a game St. Thomas won 35-14. It was played in front of a crowd of 17,327, a record for Division III football. The two teams also met in the second round of the Division III playoffs last year, a game won by the Tommies, 38-19.
In 10 of the last 11 meetings between the two schools, at least one has been ranked in the top 10 nationally.
St. John's leads the all-time series 51-34-1, but St. Thomas has won six of the past eight match-ups. That includes four straight in Collegeville. In 10 games against the Johnnies, coach Glenn Caruso has a 6-4 record.
Tickets for the game will go on sale on Dec. 13. However, a special pre-sale will be held for St. Thomas, St. John's and Twins stakeholders.
General seating tickets will run $15-$35. Student section tickets will go for $10.
Tickets will be available only through the Twins ticket office. Visiting fans will be able to purchase them online here and by calling 612-338-9462.
