Target Field to host MIAC rivals

One of the best rivalries in local college football is moving to a baseball field in 2017.

Multiple sources confirmed MIAC rivals St. John's and St. Thomas will play their annual regular-season football game at Target Field in 2017.

The Twins on Friday announced a press conference Monday, where the news will become official and other details will emerge.

Target Field has never hosted a football game, though officials have been working for a while on scheduling one.

Twins President Dave St. Peter has said in the past that the field could be configured either down the middle or from left to right field for football.

St. Peter also recently confirmed a report in the Fargo Forum indicating there could be a North Dakota State football game at Target Field as soon as 2018.

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 had the largest known single-game attendance in Division III history — a mark eclipsed when 17,535 watched UW-Whitewater and UW-Oshkosh last Saturday.

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.