ARDEN HILLS, Minn. - The No. 12/13 Bethel University football team is set to host the first ever MIAC Championship football game against No. 5 Saint John's University Saturday at Royal Stadium. The structural move to divisions for MIAC football in 2021 has created a first ever true championship game which matches the leaders of the two divisions for the last regular season game. The winner receives the MIAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Playoffs. Bethel is the winner of the Skyline division, going a perfect 4-0 within the division after defeating Augsburg University 45-14 last week. Saint John's ran through the Northwoods division with a perfect 4-0 record and are also unbeaten on the season at 9-0, most recently defeating Carleton 38-10 in Northfield last Saturday. The site of this week's games was predetermined and will rotate each year with the Skyline division teams hosting this year and the Northwoods division hosting the 2022 championship week games. The Johnnies gave the Royals their only loss of the season back in the first week of MIAC play on September 25th by a 31-25 score in front of over 9,000 fans in Collegeville. 

The first matchup was a tale of two halves as Bethel held a 6-0 lead through most of the first half in a defensive battle before SJU scored with 4:55 remaining to take a 7-6 lead into the locker room at halftime. The second half was a very different story than the first, with both offenses having tremendous success in sustaining drives and producing big plays. A Bethel turnover on their first possession was taken advantage of by SJU as they were able to build a two score lead and as the two teams traded blows the rest of the way the Royals were never able to get back in front, finishing with the 31-25 final.  

Since the week three loss to SJU the Royals have run through the rest of the MIAC winning the other six games by an average of nearly 30 points to setup the rematch with the Johnnies.  .   

Parking & Ticket Information

The gates at Royal Stadium will open at 11 a.m. on Saturday morning with kickoff at 1 p.m.. Tickets can be purchased at the gates at $6 for adults and $4 for students. All Bethel football season tickets, Bethel athletics passes and MIAC passes are valid as usual. All current Bethel students with a student ID are free. 

Parking on campus is limited and fans are encouraged to arrive early with a larger than usual crowd expected. The east campus entrance off of Snelling Avenue will be closed at Noon or when the east lot is full. 

Additional parking is available at Bethel University's Anderson Center (2 Pine Tree Dr, Arden Hills, MN 55112) with shuttle busses running beginning at Noon until 1:30pm. Pickup will be at the Anderson Center and dropoff will be at the CLC circle on the main campus. Shuttles will begin to run near the end of the game from the CLC circle back to the Anderson Center.

Vans will also be on campus patrolling the East lots to the North Village lots throughout the day to shuttle fans to the stadium.

Game notes: Week 10 (PDF)
Live video: BU Royal Network
Live stats: Bethel Football Live Stats
Twitter updates: Bethel Gameday & Bethel Royals FB
Radio: WBHR 660 AM (SJU Broadcast) 
In the media: Bethel Head Coach Steve Johnson on WCCO Radio with Mike Max  |  Bethel Quarterback Jaran Roste on WCCO Radio with Cory Hepola  |  We Are BU! Podcast with Bethel Football - Paul Swan, Jaran Roste & Jay Hilbrands

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