SFU pulls the final plug on football program, announcing its official end

It's official: football won't be returning to Simon Fraser University (SFU).

The Burnaby, B.C., school announced Wednesday that football, discontinued in 2023 after the Texas-based Lone Star Conference chose not to renew its affiliation, will not return.

"Over the past several years, the football landscape had changed significantly, and we no longer believed the program provided an exceptional experience for student-athletes," the university said in a statement.

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Players discuss the impact as SFU ends its football program

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Dan Burritt spoke to members of Simon Fraser University's Red Leafs football team after the university announced it would shut the program down.

SFU appointed Bob Copeland, of McLaren Global Sports Solutions, to review and explore options for the football program.

In his report, Copeland confirmed the school had no option to play in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) or the United States, and that returning to U Sports — the sport governing body for universities in Canada — would be costly with no guarantees of a positive outcome.

In its statement, SFU noted that, like other universities, it is "facing an uncertain financial climate."

While it said financial challenges did not influence the decision to end the football program, it stated they "reinforce the need for stronger financial prudence across all aspects of the university, including Athletics and Recreation."

SFU's provost and vice-president, Dilson Rassier, added: "We recognize the program's historic place in the province's sporting history and are deeply proud of the football student-athletes who played with SFU over the years."

The football program began in 1965, alongside the inception of the university's athletics department. 

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Dilson Rassier, the provost and vice-president of academics for the university, told the CBC's Amy Bell that the Burnaby university was rethinking its sports strategy heading into 2025.

Rassier said the decision to curtail the football program was not taken lightly.

"We do have to work with our reality and with the means that we have, and right now everybody knows that the universities across Canada are undergoing very difficult financial times," he told Amy Bell, guest host of CBC's On The Coast.

"The mission of university is education. It's not to develop professional athletes in any sport."

"We'd be very happy if that happens, but that's not the main mission of our university."