Bethel Royals football

The Bethel Royals football program represents Bethel University of Arden Hills, Minnesota in college football. Bethel competes at the NCAA Division III level as members of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC). The head coach of the Royals is Mike McElroy, who has held the position since 2024.

Bethel plays its home games at Royal Stadium, located on the campus in Arden Hills, Minnesota. Royal Stadium was built in 1995 and renovated in 2001 and 2021.

History
Bethel has had 14 head coaches since organized football started in 1947 adopting the nickname "Royals". The winningest coach in program history is Steve Johnson with a 244–107–1 career record. He is currently ranked #38 in all time wins as a head coach in NCAA college football. On April 2, 2016, he was inducted into the Minnesota Football Coaches Hall of Fame.

Their biggest conference rival is St. John's University. Bethel defeated #2 ranked St. John's 28-24 on September 24, 2022 in Arden Hills. Bethel finished the 2022 season ranked #5 in the country. Bethel won 7 of the 8 meetings against St. John's between 2006 and 2013.

Bethel has won 6 MIAC conference championships (2000, 2001, 2006, 2007, 2013, 2023). Bethel has appeared in 12 NCAA playoff appearances (2000, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023). Bethel has appeared in 2 Division III Final Four Playoffs (2007, 2010).

Hall of Fame
Source:

Coaching staff

 * Head Coach: Steve Johnson
 * Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks: AJ Parnell
 * Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Backs: Mike McElroy
 * Offensive Line/Recruiting Coordinator: Chad Richards
 * Defensive Line: Brady Bomsta
 * Linebackers/Special Teams: Kyle Kilgore
 * Running Backs/Video Coordinator: Paul Swan
 * Outside Linebackers: Tyler Krebs
 * Cornerbacks: Brooks Byrd
 * Wide Receivers: Matt Houston
 * Offensive Assistant: Eric Tulberg

NFL Players

 * Matt Eller, Defensive Line (2002) – Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers
 * Cory Svihla, Linebacker (2010) – Minnesota Vikings
 * Mitch Elliot, Offensive Tackle (2011) – Minnesota Vikings
 * Seth Mathis, Linebacker (2013) – Minnesota Vikings
 * Mitch Hallstrom, Wide receiver (2013) – Minnesota Vikings
 * Dawson Brown, Defensive Back (2019) - Atlanta Falcons
 * Kyle Kilgore, Defensive Line (2019) – Minnesota Vikings
 * Travis Sinclair, Offensive Line (2022) - Minnesota Vikings