University of St. Thomas Athletics
San Diego
St. Thomas hosts San Diego in Homecoming showdown
9/21/2026 9:00:00 AM | Football
ST. PAUL, MINN. – The University of St. Thomas will host the San Diego Toreros this Saturday in a promising matchup that marks the Pioneer Football League (PFL) opener for both teams. The Tommies will host the Toreros, who were picked as the preseason favorites to win the conference, at O'Shaughnessy Stadium this upcoming Saturday, September 26. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. in St. Paul, Minnesota. The Homecoming game is presented by Wings Credit Union.
GAMEDAY CENTRAL
PURPLE ON THE PLAZA: Starting at 11:00 a.m. on the John P. Monahan Plaza, this pregame fanfest is free and will feature performances, appearances, and giveaways.
HALL OF FAME CEREMONY: A wall unveiling for the St. Thomas Athletics 2026 Hall of Fame Class will occur at 12:00 p.m. at the Anderson Athletic and Recreation Complex, with the honorees being celebrated at halftime.
PRIDE AND PASSION SCHOLARSHIP: St. Thomas students can participate in a chance to win a $2500 scholarship during the fourth quarter.
TICKETS: Tickets for Saturday's contest can be purchased on tommiesports.com/tickets. Students can also claim their tickets here. Fans will need to download tickets to their digital wallets in advance, and gates will open one hour prior to kickoff.
GAMEDAY SPONSOR: Saturday's Homecoming game is sponsored by Wings Credit Union.
HOW TO WATCH:
TV/STREAMING: The game will be broadcast on Midco Sports Plus and FOX9+ with commentary by Sam Ekstrom and Joe Moline.
RADIO: Coverage will also be available on 1500 ESPN and The Varsity Network. Corbu Stathes, Chris Ohm and Allie Mosley return to the airwaves for another exciting season of Tommie Football.
LIVE STATS: Live stats will be available on tommiesports.com.
FOLLOW THE TOMMIES: Follow St. Thomas football on X (@UST_Football) and Instagram (@UST_Football) for all the latest updates. Also, make sure to follow Tommie Athletics on TikTok (@TommieSports).
LAST TIME OUT:
ST. THOMAS: St. Thomas defeated a DI scholarship program for the second time in the DI era last weekend, upending (RV) Southern Utah 28-26 at O'Shaughnessy Stadium. Gabriel Abel (Trenton, N.J. / Salisbury) rushed for 120 yards and a touchdown in the victory, while Nick Peipert (Barrington, Ill. / Barrington) was named the PFL Freshman of the Week for the second straight Sunday after throwing for 231 yards in the win.
SAN DIEGO: The Toreros earned their first win of 2026 in dramatic fashion, using a last second field goal to defeat Cal Poly 38-35. Kicker Emiliano Salazar was named the PFL Special Teams Player of the Week, as his 38-yard field goal with two seconds remaining secured the victory for San Diego.
KEY STORYLINES:
VETERAN MOVES: Head Coach Glenn Caruso owns an impressive 13-4 record in conference openers, including a 4-1 mark in Division I play. The veteran head coach has lost back-to-back conference openers just once in his career. Back in the DIII days, Saint John's handed St. Thomas consecutive MIAC opening losses in 2013 and 2014. Even more bizarre? Both losses happened at O'Shaughnessy Stadium, where Caruso is virtually unbeatable.
MILESTONE PERFORMANCES: The Tommies have found plenty of success against the Toreros at O'Shaughnessy Stadium, winning in both 2022 and 2024. Both those victories were fueled by historic performances. In 2022, former St. Thomas wide receiver Andrew McElroy became the first Tommie in the DI era to record 200+ receiving yards in a game. McElroy led St. Thomas to a 49-42 victory thanks to his 200 yards, three touchdown performance. He also recorded 121 yards on kickoff returns, including a 95-yard touchdown return in the fourth quarter.
In 2024, former standout Hope Adebayo rushed for a DI era record 277 yards in a win over San Diego. He was named the FCS Offensive Player of the Week and received quite a bit of national recognition after rushing for three touchdowns, including one that was a 70-yard rush. That was the longest rushing TD of the DI era for the Tommies until Abel broke the record this past weekend.
