(The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Here's what Target Field will look like for Tommies/Johnnies football in 2017
The Twins have scheduled a news conference for Monday to announce a football game to be played at Target Field next season, and several sources confirmed it will be the huge state rivalry between the Johnnies and Tommies.
October 17, 2016 at 2:57PM
The Twins on Monday confirmed what multiple source said Friday: the 2017 St. John's vs. St. Thomas football game will be held at Target Field.
The game will be at 1 p.m. on Sept. 23, and St. Thomas will be the home team. The field will be oriented from the first base dugout (Twins side) to the left field corner. See attached image and click to enlarge.
Target Field has never hosted a football game, though officials have been working for a while on scheduling one.
"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 in a news release Monday. "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."
St. John's vs. St. Thomas is one of the area's best college football rivalries, particularly with both programs riding high. St. Thomas is ranked No. 4 in the latest Division III poll, while St. John's is No. 12.
Until a week ago, the two schools held the Division III record for largest single-game attendance -- a mark eclipsed when 17,535 watched UW-Whitewater and UW-Oshkosh. But Johnnies vs. Tommies still accounts for three of the top-five most attended games in D-III history, and a game at Target Field could shatter any existing attendance record.
More details will emerge at an 11 a.m. Monday news conference.
Penn State, a winner by 56 against the U last season, is next up in the now-brawnier conference.
