Target Field to Host 2017 Johnnie-Tommie Football Game​

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — Football is coming to Target Field. The Minnesota Twins announced Monday that the University of St. Thomas football team will play arch-rival Saint John's University on Sept. 23, 2017 at 1:00 p.m. at Target Field.

The Division III matchup, which will be a St. Thomas home game, will be the first-ever football game played at Target Field, according to the Minnesota Twins.

Ticket Information

Tickets for the game will go on sale to the general public beginning December 13, 2016 on this page, with a special presale opportunity for University of St. Thomas, Saint John's University and Minnesota Twins stakeholders on Dec. 6, 2016, according to a news release.

General seating tickets to the event will range from $15-35 for the 1:00 p.m. game (Gates open at 11:00 am). Approximately 2,000 student section tickets for each university will be held and made available summer of 2017 at a cost of $10 per student.

History of the Johnnie-Tommie Rivalry

The first Johnnie-Tommie game was played on Thanksgiving Day in 1901 at Lexington Park in St. Paul, according to d3football.com. Since then, the two rivals have met more than 83 times, including an annual meeting each of the last 63 years.

In 2015, ESPN held its Saturday SportsCenter segment, College Gameday, on the campus of Saint John's before the Johnnie-Tommie game. It was SportsCenter's first extended live visit to a Division III campus, according to tommiesports.com.

ESPN described the Saint John's-St. Thomas rivalry as a "Division III football's Alabama-Auburn streamed through a private-school, Minnesota Nice filter."

Image via Chris Evans, Flickr, used under Creative Commons