The team represented Saint John's University as a member of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) during the 1963 NAIA football season.
The 1962 Saint John's team had also been unbeaten and untied but did not receive one of the four berths in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics NAIA playoffs.
Saint John's scored its 54 points in the first three quarters, intercepted four Emporia passes, recovered two fumbles, and blocked a punt.
[9] On December 7, 1963, the Johnnies faced Prairie View A&M in the Camellia Bowl, the NAIA national championship game played in Sacramento, California.
Prairie View, which featured future NFL stars Ken Houston and Otis Taylor, came into the game as the undefeated black college national champion.