Minnesota United and the University of St. Thomas today announced that the St. Thomas football team will host Saint John’s University on Oct. 19, 2019, at Allianz Field. The Division III matchup, which will be a St. Thomas home game, will be the first-ever American football game played at Allianz Field, the new home to the Loons.
"Everyone at Minnesota United is excited to host this classic Minnesota rivalry – the St. Thomas-Saint John's football game – at our brand-new home, Allianz Field," said MNUFC CEO Chris Wright. "We cannot wait to honor this great tradition by creating an incredible atmosphere and experience for the players, coaches and — most importantly — the fans."
The rivalry between St. Thomas and Saint John’s football teams dates back to 1901. Since then, the schools have met 88 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 seven of the 88 games have been played off-campus, including the 1901 game at Lexington Park in St. Paul – just a few blocks from the future site of Allianz Field. Off-campus games have also been held at St. Cloud Tech High School in 1945 and the Metrodome in 1996 and 1997. Most recently the rivalry was showcased at Target Field, the home of the Minnesota Twins, in 2017.
The universities have played every year in football since 1952, and twice in 2015. St. John’s leads the all-time series 52-35-1, although St. Thomas has won seven of the last 10 meetings.
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 St. Thomas 35-14, drew a then-record crowd of 17,327, while the contest at Target Field set a NCAA Division III-record crowd of 37,355. Set to open in the spring of 2019, Allianz Field will have a capacity of 19,400.
"We're excited for this opportunity to showcase Division III's best football rivalry game in yet another spectacular venue,” said Steve Fritz, St. Thomas athletic director. “People who follow both universities and many Minnesota sports fans in general always look forward to attending this game.”
"We are excited to see this great rivalry brought to Allianz Field for St. Thomas’ home game," SJU athletic director Bob Alpers said. "This should be a great experience for our student-athletes, coaches and fans."
Ticket information for the game will be forthcoming. Stay tuned to MNUFC.COM and Tommiesports.com for more information.
Saint John's football coach Gary Fasching, St. Thomas football coach Glenn Caruso, St. Thomas President Julie Sullivan and Bryant Pfeiffer, Executive Vice President and Chief Revenue Office for Minnesota United FC stand together in Allianz Field on Dec. 4.
