2024 SJU Football Schedule

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – A non-conference matchup with a perennial national power is among the highlights of the Saint John's University football team's 2024 schedule that has now been finalized, head coach Gary Fasching '81 announced on Wednesday, Feb. 14.

The MIAC schedule had already been set, but the Johnnies have added home non-conference matchups with Carthage (Wis.) and Wartburg (Iowa) to start the season.

SJU opens against Carthage on Sept. 7, then plays host to Wartburg Sept. 14. It will mark the third time in the past four seasons that the Johnnies will play six regular-season home games – including both non-conference contests.

Wartburg has advanced to the NCAA semifinals the past two seasons, including 2022 when the Knights defeated SJU 23-20 in the second round in Collegeville. The program won its 19th conference championship and finished 13-1 this past fall - ending the season ranked No. 3 nationally.

The season opener against Carthage, meanwhile, will mark the Johnnies' first meeting with the Firebirds on the football field. Carthage posted a 3-7 record for the second-straight season in 2023, but will have a new head coach – Matt Popino – in 2024. Popino spent the past five seasons at Endicott (Mass.), including the last three as the Gulls' defensive coordinator. Endicott reached the first round of the Division III playoffs last fall before falling 23-17 to eventual national champion Cortland State (N.Y.).

SJU is 2-1 all-time against current members of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW). The Sept. 7 meeting will be the first for SJU at home against a CCIW opponent since Nov. 20, 1976, when the Johnnies earned a 46-7 win over Augustana (Ill.) in the NCAA quarterfinals.

While SJU and Wartburg have played in the postseason three times (1994, 2015 and 2022), the last regular-season meeting between the schools occurred on Sept. 11, 1971 (a 49-13 home win for SJU). The Johnnies are 19-6 all-time against the American Rivers Conference (ARC), formerly the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC), including a 12-2 record in Collegeville.

"It was imperative that we started the year with two home games on our schedule with a week three bye and week four at Bethel," Fasching said. "After a long search, we were able to find two games that will be exciting for our fans.

"Carthage in the opener will present a great challenge. They have a new coaching staff and have experienced past success. Week two will bring third-ranked Wartburg to Collegeville. The Knights have been one of the top teams in the country the past two years and this game will be a rematch of the playoff game from 2022. 

"Our players and coaches are looking forward to the 2024 season with a six-game home schedule."

As Fasching said, conference action begins for SJU with a Sept. 28 trip to Bethel. The Johnnies then play host to Augsburg for Homecoming Oct. 5 before back-to-back road games at Concordia (Oct. 12) and Carleton (Oct. 19). 

Family Weekend is Oct. 26 vs. Gustavus Adolphus before SJU makes a trek to Duluth the following Saturday (Nov. 2) against St. Scholastica. The Johnnies welcome St. Olaf to Collegeville Nov. 9 and end the regular-season schedule, like the rest of the Northwoods Division, by hosting MIAC Championship Week Nov. 16.

The full schedule is as follows:

SJU's 2024 Football Schedule
Sept. 7 – vs. Carthage (Wis.), 1 p.m.
Sept. 14 – vs. Wartburg (Iowa), 1 p.m.
Sept. 28 – at Bethel, 1 p.m.
Oct. 5 – vs. Augsburg, 1 p.m. (Homecoming) 
Oct. 12 – at Concordia, 1 p.m.
Oct. 19 – at Carleton, 1 p.m.
Oct. 26 – vs. Gustavus Adolphus, 1 p.m. (Family Weekend)
Nov. 2 – at St. Scholastica, 1 p.m.
Nov. 9 – vs. St. Olaf, 1 p.m.
Nov. 16 – vs. MIAC Championship Week, 1 p.m.

SJU finished second to Wisconsin-Whitewater, both in total attendance (40,881) and per-game average (8,176), last fall in NCAA Division III. The cumulative total was greater than one Football Bowl Subdivision team (Akron), 85 Football Championship Subdivision teams and all but five of the 164 Division ll programs.

SJU (8-2, 7-1 MIAC) ended the 2023 season ranked as high as No. 19 in the D3football.com Top 25 poll.

2023 NCAA Division III Football Attendance Leaders

No.	School	Gms.	Total	Avg.
1.	Wisconsin-Whitewater	7	62,113	8,873
2.	Saint John's	5	40,881	8,176
3.	Geneva (Pa.)	5	21,535	4,307
4.	Bethel	5	27,217	4,243
5.	Trine (Ind.)	5	21,093	4,219
6.	Hampden-Sydney (Va.)	6	25,204	4,201
7.	Baldwin Wallace (Ohio)	6	25,158	4,193
8.	Union (N.Y.)	5	20,808	4,162
9.	Wabash (Ind.)	4	15,355	3,839
10.	Tufts (Mass.)	4	15,191	3,798

2023 SJU vs. FCS/Division II Schools in Upper Midwest

No.	School	NCAA	Gms.	Total	Avg.
1.	South Dakota State	FCS	9	141,898	15,766
2.	North Dakota State	FCS	7	98,522	14,075
3.	North Dakota	FCS	7	68,247	9,750
4.	Northern Iowa	FCS	5	46,893	9,379
5.	Saint John's	III	5	40,881	8,176
6.	South Dakota	FCS	8	56,769	7,096
7.	St. Thomas	FCS	5	19,341	3,868
8.	Northern State (S.D.)	II	5	26,466	5,293
9.	MSU-Mankato	II	6	28,691	4,782
10.	Bethel	III	5	21,217	4,243

2023 MIAC Football Attendance Leaders

No.	School	Gms.	Total	Avg.
1.	Saint John's	5	40,881	8,176
2.	Bethel	5	21,217	4,243
3.	Carleton	5	10,125	2,025
4.	Concordia	5	8,830	1,766
5.	Gustavus Adolphus	5	8,143	1,629
6.	Augsburg	6	6,935	1,156
7.	Macalester	5	4,865	973
8.	St. Olaf	5	4,196	839
9.	St. Scholastica	5	2,435	487
10.	Hamline	5	1,649	330