College football is returning to Target Field on Saturday, September 16, as the reigning national champion South Dakota State University Jackrabbits host the Drake University Bulldogs in a 2:30 p.m. contest presented by CHS. Tickets are on sale now and will be available for purchase only at twins.com/football.
The meeting between these two Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) programs will be designated an SDSU home game; it also marks the third college football game in the 14-year history of the Minnesota Twins’ home ballpark, and the second NCAA Division I matchup. The field will again be configured with one end zone in front of the Twins’ dugout, and the other near the leftfield wall. Tickets for non-premium locations range from $20 to $109, with the highest price point located in the all-inclusive Thomson Reuters Champions Club and featuring unlimited food and beverage.
SDSU finished its historic 2022 campaign with a 14-1 record and the program’s first ever national title, capped by a victory over North Dakota State University in the FCS Championship Game on January 8, 2023.
The Saturday, September 16 contest at Target Field will be the third game of the 2023 season for both SDSU and Drake.
Target Field College Football History
The SDSU-Drake matchup marks the third college football game played at Target Field, and the second NCAA Division I contest. The Twins’ home ballpark first welcomed a then-record Division III crowd of 37,355 for the University of St. Thomas’ 20-17 victory over St. John’s University on September 23, 2017; the venue then hosted 34,544 fans on August 31, 2019 as North Dakota State University defeated Butler University by a score of 57-10.
About Target Field
Nestled into downtown Minneapolis, the award-winning Target Field – home to Major League Baseball’s Minnesota Twins – is one of the premier sporting and entertainment venues in the Upper Midwest, and one of the most unique and spectacular ballparks in the game. The 2011 Sports Business Journal Sports Facility of the Year, the ballpark was recognized as having the best game day experience in all of sports by ESPN The Magazine in 2010. Known as the “Greenest Ballpark in America,” Target Field was awarded LEED Platinum certification in 2022 and is the only MLB venue to earn five separate LEED honors. Since its opening in 2010, Target Field has hosted MLB’s Postseason (2010, ’19 and ’20), the 2014 MLB All-Star Game, numerous high school and college baseball games, 17 concerts, two college football games, an international soccer match and the 2022 Discover NHL Winter Classic®.
(info courtesy of Twins)