“There was no advance warning. We have been assured by the Simon Fraser University administration their decision is final.” Greg Weghorst Stated, Lone Star Conference Associate Commissioner of Communications.
“Our member institutions have moved on and are working hard to fill the voids left in their 2023 schedules.”
It would seem that an extremely convincing argument would need to be made to the Lone Star Conference should SFU Football be allowed to reverse its decision and play in the LSC. The football program was canceled late in the off-season at a time when it becomes difficult to fill the void left in the 9 other LSC football teams.
The other members of the Lone Star Conference and the LSC itself may very well feel disrespected by Simon Fraser University and trust could be a limited commodity. Even if SFU wants to resume play in the LSC, it would require a lot of forgiveness and grace from other parties.
Simon Fraser University has not made an application to join USports. USports does have a rule saying that schools need to participate in all of their sports in USports.
“Pursuing an exemption fo
r football only would be very complex, it’s unprecedented,” SFU Athletic Director Theresa Hanson had previously stated in an interview with BurnabyNow.As pointed out by TSN reporter Farhan Lalji the fact that Simon Fraser was the only non-US School to join the NCAA was also unprecedented.
For whatever reason the current administration is completely unwilling to even apply to play USports and has continued to demonstrate a lack of desire and unwillingness to find a way to keep SFU football alive.
USports Conference, Canada West
issued a statement saying regarding the decision by SFU and reiterated where their application status is outlined.Simply being open for application is not enough for USports to help SFU football. USports needs to fill out the application on behalf of SFU football. Not because they have any obligation to do so, but because it is the right thing to do and to try to further help the neglected student-athletes and the historic program that is SFU football.
These young men signed on to play for Simon Fraser University to play football entrusting that SFU would honor their end of the agreement. Their parents entrusted SFU to take care of their sons as they enter the adult world, giving them a place to play football and earn an education.
To see a program suddenly cance
l a year early when the program still had a place to play is negligent and reckless. It abandons its obligation to participate in the Lone Star Conference as it had previously agreed to. It almost comes across as a retaliatory measure to sabotage the existing LSC schedules for 2023 in response to not being included in 2024. As the lone Canadian representative in the SFU, it creates an embarrassing look for Canada.The decision puts the 80+ student-athletes in a serious bind, a year of their football careers is erased. Their NCAA eligibility is not used if they don’t play this year, they may choose to pick up and play the rest of their NCAA eligibility elsewhere but then they are faced with deciding if they wish to begin their careers a year later in life than they would otherwise.
The handling of the football team’s sudden early cancellation also hurts the reputation of the athletic program as a whole under the current administration. Future student-athletes in other programs will see how the football team was treated and take that into consideration for what school they will commit to.
If USports is willing to make a
n exception for SFU Football to join Canada West without the other sports joining USports, they need to fill out the application for them. Canada West would need to publicly state what steps SFU now needs to take to participate in the acceptance of their application. To do so would be done from a place of grace and compassion to help the student-athletes affected and help fight the destruction of one of Canada’s historic football programs.The current administration at SFU has not done themselves any favors for their own reputation and the willingness of other organizations to work with them after abandoning their previous obligations with the Lone Star Conference. If USports is to hold the SFU administration’s hand to save the football program, it would be a selfless and honorable act that could strengthen Canadian football for generations to come.
Please note that any written and or perceived criticisms are my own opinion.
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Jamie clayton
April 18, 2023 at 2:23 pm
Like every team in North America in the spring until they get their incoming freshman, their roster are low.
SFU currently, including incoming 2023 class, has 97 players committed to play in 2022