The Simon Fraser Red Leafs football team represented Simon Fraser University since the athletic department's inception in 1965 until 2022. The team played by American rules while they competed in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics from 1965 to 2001 against other American teams. Along with other SFU teams, the football program transferred to Canadian Interuniversity Sport (now U Sports) and thereby switched to playing Canadian football against Canadian University teams in 2002. While playing in the CIS, SFU won its first and only Hardy Trophy conference championship in 2003 while qualifying for the playoffs twice. After playing eight seasons in the Canada West Conference of the CIS, the football team began competing in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference of NCAA Division II in 2010, and started played the American format of football again.[2] Kristie Elliott became the first Canadian woman to play, and to score, in an NCAA football game, on September 11, 2021, as a kicker for the team.[3][4] After the GNAC dropped football after the 2021 season, SFU and the other two GNAC members that still sponsored the sport became football-only members of the Lone Star Conference.[5] After the 2022 season, it was announced on April 4, 2023, that football would be dropped from the school after it was previously announced the Lone Star Conference was ending its affiliation with Simon Fraser after the 2023–24 season.[6]
The team previously used the names "Clansmen" and "Clan;" those names were retired in 2020.[7] The new nickname "Red Leafs" was announced in September 2022.[8]
Rivalry
The team had maintained a cross-town rivalry with the Vancouver-based University of British Columbia Thunderbirds as they are also the only two universities in British Columbia that field football teams. Since 1967, the two teams have competed in the Shrum Bowl, an annual game played at alternating venues with alternating rules. SFU holds a 17–16–1 series lead after winning in three consecutive years from 2008 to 2010 to claim the lead. Due to the two schools playing in two different leagues, the scheduling of these games has often been difficult, with no game being played from 2011 to 2021.[9] The Shrum Bowl was revived and played again on December 2, 2022, where UBC defeated SFU 18-17 under American rules.[10]
(*) In 2009, two victories were nullified because CWUAA accused SFU for having ineligible players in both games. However, SFU argued that they followed CWUAA's guidelines perfectly and that the player was eligible at the time of the accusation. The Manitoba Bisons also used an ineligible player in a Simon Fraser win, so the game was declared "no contest."
Former SFU wide receiver Victor Marshall was invited to the Seattle Seahawks rookie camp in May 2013 and earned a contract on May 13 to take part in Organized Team Activities and training camp as a tight end.[15] On July 30, 2013, the Seahawks released Marshall during training camp.[16]
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