| Simon Fraser Red Leafs football | |
|---|---|
 | |
| First season | 1965 |
| Last season | 2022 |
| Athletic director | Vacant |
| Head coach | Mike Rigell 2nd season, 2–16 (.111) |
| Stadium | Terry Fox Field |
| Field surface | Artificial turf |
| Conference | Lone Star |
| All-time record | 186–321–2 (.367) |
| Bowl record | 0–1 (.000) |
| Conference titles | 1 (2003) |
| Current uniform | |
 | |
| Colors | Red and White |
| Mascot | McFogg the Dog |
| Website | athletics.sfu.ca |
The SFU Red Leafs footballorSimon 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 ConferenceofNCAA Division II in 2010, and have played the American format of football again since.[1] 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.[2] 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.[3]
The team previously used the names "Clansmen" and "Clan;" those names were retired in 2020.[4] The new nickname "Red Leafs" was announced in September 2022.[5]
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.[6] The Shrum Bowl was revived and played again on December 2, 2022, where UBC defeated SFU 18-17 under American rules.[7]
| Year | Coach | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Highest# | Final° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) (1965–2001) | |||||||||
| Canada West (CIS) (2002–2009) | |||||||||
| 2002 | Chris Beaton | 2–6 | 6th | NR | NR | ||||
| 2003 | Chris Beaton | 5–3 | 2nd | W Canada West semi-final W Hardy Trophy L Uteck Bowl |
8 | 8 | |||
| 2004 | Chris Beaton | 3–5 | 6th | 6 | NR | ||||
| 2005 | Chris Beaton | 0–7–1 | 7th | NR | NR | ||||
| 2006 | Frank Boehres | 0–7–1 | 7th | NR | NR | ||||
| 2007 | Dave Johnson | 0–8 | 7th | NR | NR | ||||
| 2008 | Dave Johnson | 5–3 | 4th | W Canada West semi-final L Hardy Trophy |
7 | 8 | |||
| 2009 | Dave Johnson | 1–6 (*) | 7th | 7 | NR | ||||
| CIS: | 16–47–2 | ||||||||
| Great Northwest (NCAA Division II) (2010–2021) | |||||||||
| 2010 | Dave Johnson | 1–9 (0–9 NCAA) | 0–8 | 5th | NR | NR | |||
| 2011 | Dave Johnson | 3–7 | 2–6 | 4th | NR | NR | |||
| 2012 | Dave Johnson | 5–6 | 4–6 | 4th | NR | NR | |||
| 2013 | Dave Johnson | 3–7 | 3–7 | 5th | NR | NR | |||
| 2014 | Jacques Chapdelaine | 2–9 | 2–7 | 5th | NR | NR | |||
| 2015 | Kelly Bates | 0–9 | 0–6 | 7th | NR | NR | |||
| 2016 | Kelly Bates | 0–10 | 0–8 | 5th | NR | NR | |||
| 2017 | Kelly Bates | 0–10 | 0–8 | 5th | NR | NR | |||
| 2018 | Thomas Ford | 1–8 | 0–7 | 5th | NR | NR | |||
| 2019 | Thomas Ford | 1–9 | 1–5 | 3rd | NR | NR | |||
| 2021 | Mike Rigell | 1–7 | 0–4 | 3rd | NR | NR | |||
| Lone Star Conference (NCAA Division II) (2022) | |||||||||
| 2022 | Mike Rigell | 1–9 | 1–8 | 10th (Last) | NR | NR | |||
| NCAA: | 18–99 | 13–80 | |||||||
| Total: | |||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
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(*) 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."
Since the program first began in 1965, Simon Fraser University has had the most first overall selections with five.[9][10]
As of the start of the 2024 CFL season, five former SFU players were on CFL teams' rosters:
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.[12] On July 30, 2013, the Seahawks released Marshall during training camp.[13]
On April 27, 2018, former SFU DE Nathan Shepherd was selected 72nd overall in the 2018 NFL draft by the New York Jets and made the 53-man roster out of training camp. As of the end of the 2023 NFL season, Shepherd was on the New Orleans Saints' roster.
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