The SFU Red Leafs or Simon Fraser Red Leafs teams (formerly the Simon Fraser Clan) represent

Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a Public university, public research university in British Columbia, Canada. It maintains three campuses in Greater Vancouver, respectively located in Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, British Columbia, Surrey, and ...

(SFU), which is located in

Burnaby Burnaby is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the centre of the Burrard Peninsula, it neighbours the City of Vancouver to the west, the District of North Vancouver across the confluence of the Burrard In ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. The Red Leafs are members of

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is the intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environment ...

and are the only Canadian or non-American university affiliated with the U.S.-based

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

. The teams previously used the nicknames "Clan" and "Clansmen," which were used as a tribute to the Scottish heritage of the university's namesake, Simon Fraser. The names were retired in 2020 due to the negative

connotation A connotation is a commonly understood cultural or emotional association that any given word or phrase carries, in addition to its explicit or literal meaning, which is its denotation. A connotation is frequently described as either positive or ...

surrounding those terms. In September 2022, the updated nickname "Red Leafs" was announced.

History

SFU's teams formerly played in the

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for higher education, colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic schola ...

of the United States for all sports. In 1997, Simon Fraser sought to join the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

of the United States as a Division II school, but was turned down. After this, SFU decided in 2000–01 to partially transfer to

Canadian Interuniversity Sport U Sports (stylized as U SPORTS) is the national sport governing body for universities in Canada, comprising the majority of degree-granting universities in the country and four regional conferences: Ontario University Athletics (OUA), Résea ...

(now

U Sports U Sports (stylized as U SPORTS) is the national sport governing body for universities in Canada, comprising the majority of degree-granting universities in the country and four regional conferences: Ontario University Athletics (OUA), Résea ...

). Before the transfer, SFU did not compete in

Canadian football Canadian football, or simply football, is a Sports in Canada, sport in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete on a field long and wide, attempting to advance a Ball (gridiron football), pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposi ...

, instead playing

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

. On July 10, 2009, the NCAA approved SFU's bid to join NCAA Division II starting in 2011–12, where SFU intended to compete in the

Great Northwest Athletic Conference The Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. It has historically operated in the northwestern United States, but a ...

. However,

Canada West The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in British North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report ...

, the CIS association that SFU teams were scheduled to play in, issued a probation on all SFU teams for the 2010–11 season, leading to speculation that SFU teams would not have any conference to play in for that season. The GNAC admitted SFU one year earlier than planned as a full conference member in time for the 2010–11 season. This led to SFU playing

again, which was the case before they joined the CIS.

Sports sponsored

SFU currently has 16 varsity programs competing in the following sports (affiliations included):The complete list of teams is available in the drop menus o
the Department of Athletics' Home Page
*

Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

, men and women ( NCAA D-II); * Cross-country, men and women (NCAA D-II); *

Golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

, men and women (NCAA D-II); *

Soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

, men and women (NCAA D-II); *

Softball Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...

, women (NCAA D-II); *

Swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

, men and women (NCAA D-II); *

Track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

, men and women (NCAA D-II); *

Volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

, women (NCAA D-II); *

Wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

, men (NCAA D-II, Wrestling Canada Lutte) and women (Women's College Wrestling Association, Wrestling Canada Lutte);

Women's basketball

Team championships: * 2010 CIS National Champions; * 2009 CIS National Champions; * 2007 CIS National Champions; * 2005 CIS National Champions; * 2002 CIS National Champions;

Men's soccer

Team championships and other highlights: * 2023 GNAC Champion; * 2021 GNAC Runner-Up; * 2018 GNAC Champion, NCAA Division II Championship Second Round; * 2017 GNAC Champion, NCAA Division II Championship First Round; * 2016 GNAC Champion, NCAA Division II Championship Second Round; * 2015 GNAC Runner-Up; * 2014 NCAA Division II Championship Appearance; * 2013 GNAC Champion, NCAA Division II Final Four appearance; * 2012 GNAC Champion, NCAA Division II Final Four appearance (first non-US school to ever do so); * 2011 GNAC Champion; Ranked №. 1 in the NSCAA Coaches' Poll; * 2010 GNAC Champion; NAIA Final Four appearance; * 2007 NAIA Final Four appearance; * 2005 NAIA Region I Finals; * 2004 NAIA Region I Semi-finals; * 2003 NAIA Region I Champion; * 2002 NAIA Region I Champion; * 1987 NAIA National Finalists; * 1986 NAIA National Finalists; * 1983 NAIA National Champions; * 1982 NAIA National Champions; * 1980 NAIA National Finalists; * 1976 NAIA National Champions; * 1975 NAIA National Finalists;

Women’s soccer

Simon Fraser v Stanislaus State match in 2012 Team championships * 2023 GNAC Champions * 1995 West Region Champions * 1996 West Region Runner-up * 1996 NAIA National Champions * 1997 West Region Champions * 1997 NAIA National Championship Runner-up * 1998 West Region Champions * 1998 NAIA National Championship Runner-up * 1999 West Region Champions * 1999 NAIA National Championship Runner-up * 2000 West Region Champions * 2000 NAIA National Champions - NAIA record for longest game, 162:38 minutes * 2001 West Region Semi finalist * 2004 West Region Champions * 2004 NAIA National Championships Quarterfinals * 2005 West Region Champions * 2005 NAIA National Championships Semifinals * 2008 NAIA National Championships Quarterfinals

Softball

Team championships: * 2010 NAIA National Champions; * 2005 NAIA National Champions; * 2003 NAIA National Champions; * 1999 NAIA National Champions

Wrestling

SFU began competing in NAIA for wrestling in 1977, consistently producing individual champions,

All-Americans The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

, and winning the team title twice (1988, 1993), along with several NAIA Hall of Famers. SFU competed in

(CIS) from 2002 to 2010, winning the Canada West Conference from 2004 - 2010, two national men's team titles (2009, 2010; ending Brock's 10-year streak), and six national women's team titles. In 2009, SFU started the process to become the first non-American

member school. SFU's wrestling program concurrently participated in CIS for

freestyle Freestyle may refer to: Brands * Reebok Freestyle, a women's athletic shoe * Ford Freestyle, an SUV automobile * Coca-Cola Freestyle, a vending machine * Abbott FreeStyle, a blood glucose monitor by Abbott Laboritories Media * '' FreeStyle'', ...

and

Greco-Roman wrestling Greco-Roman (American English), Graeco-Roman (British English), or classic wrestling (Euro-English) is a style of wrestling that is practiced worldwide. Greco-Roman wrestling was included in the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 and has been i ...

, and NAIA for

collegiate wrestling Collegiate wrestling, commonly referred to as folkstyle wrestling, is the form of wrestling practiced at the post-secondary level in the United States. This style of wrestling is also practiced at the high school, middle school, and elementary ...

. In 2012, SFU competed in the

NCWA The National Collegiate Wrestling Association (NCWA) is a nonprofit association of 162 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organize the wrestling programs of many colleges and universities in the United States and Canad ...

for one season prior to fully joining the

. In 2023, SFU became a founding member of the first NCAA D-II conference for women's wrestling by joining the

Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC), commonly known as the Rocky Mountain Conference (RMC) from approximately 1910 through the late 1960s, is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (N ...

(RMAC) as an associate member, with SFU's men's wrestling joining a couple of months later.

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

gold medalists

Daniel Igali Baraladei Daniel Igali (born February 3, 1974) is a Nigerian-Canadian wrestler. He won Canada's first ever Olympic gold medal in wrestling at the 2000 Summer Olympics and remains Canada's only male Olympic gold medalist in wrestling. Wrestling ...

(Canada's first Olympic gold medal winner in freestyle wrestling), Carol Huynh (Canada's first female Olympic gold medalist in wrestling), and American

Helen Maroulis Helen Louise Maroulis ( ; born September 19, 1991) is an American freestyle wrestler who competes in the women's 55-kg, 53-kg, and 57-kg categories. She was a gold medalist at the 2015 World Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas, Nevada and a go ...

wrestled at SFU. Olympic

silver medalists A silver medal, in sports and other similar areas involving competition, is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, e ...

Bob Molle and Jeff Thue, and

bronze medalist A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives a ...

Chris Rinke also wrestled at SFU, along with several other Olympians and world championship competitors including

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

(MMA)

world champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

Arjan Bhullar Arjan Singh Bhullar (born May 13, 1986) is a Canadian mixed martial artist currently competing in the heavyweight division of ONE Championship, where he is the former ONE Heavyweight World Champion. He has also competed in the Ultimate Fightin ...

. SFU also hosts two annual tournaments: the SFU Open, an international competition for senior freestyle wrestlers, and SFU War on the Floor, a tournament for elementary and high school wrestlers.

Former sports

Football

The SFU

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

team formerly competed since the athletic department's inception in 1965 until 2023. The team played by American rules while they competed in the

from 1965 to 2001 against other American teams. Along with other SFU teams, the football program transferred to

(now U Sports) and thereby switched to playing

against Canadian University teams in 2002. While playing in the CIS, SFU won their first and only

Hardy Trophy The Hardy Trophy is a Canadian sport trophy, presented annually to the winner of the Canada West Universities Athletic Association Canadian football, Football Conference of U Sports, the country's governing body for university athletics. It is na ...

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

in 2010, thereby playing football by American rules again since then. Over time, most of the GNAC members that had football teams stopped sponsoring the sport, and SFU was eventually left as one of only three GNAC football schools. After the 2021 season, the GNAC shut down its football league, with SFU and the other remaining members joining the

Lone Star Conference The Lone Star Conference (LSC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Member institutions are located in the South Central states, with schools in Texas ...

for that sport. However, the LSC announced it would no longer maintain its affiliate membership with Simon Fraser following the 2023 season, leading SFU to end its varsity football program effective immediately. The team previously also maintained a cross-town rivalry with the

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

-based University of British Columbia Thunderbirds as they were the only two universities in

that field

teams. Since 1967, the two teams have competed in the

Shrum Bowl The Shrum Bowl was a university rivalry game played between the gridiron football teams of the University of British Columbia (UBC) Thunderbirds and the Simon Fraser University (SFU) Red Leafs. The game was named after Gordon Shrum who was a p ...

, an annual game played at alternating venues with alternating rules. SFU holds a 17–16–1 series lead while UBC is the most recent champion having won the 2022 game at

Terry Fox Field SFU Stadium at Terry Fox Field is a multi-purpose sport field on Burnaby Mountain in Burnaby, British Columbia. It serves as the home field of the Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser Red Leafs, Red Leafs for association football, Canadian foot ...

. Due to the two schools playing in two different leagues and game formats, the scheduling of these games has often been difficult, with no games being played from 2011 until 2021, the 12th time the Shrum Bowl had taken a hiatus since the game's inception. With the end of Simon Fraser's football program, however, the Shrum Bowl has become a defunct rivalry, with the last edition played in 2022 under American rules and resulting in a 18–17 victory for UBC.

Club teams

In addition to its 16 varsity programs, SFU currently has 4 competitive club programmes competing in intercollegiate sport leagues of the following sports (affiliations included): *

Ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

, men ( BCIHL); *

Field lacrosse Field lacrosse is a full contact sport, full contact outdoor sport played with two opposing teams of 10 players each. The sport originated among indigenous peoples of the Americas, Native Americans, and the modern rules of field lacrosse were i ...

, men ( MCLA D1); *

Rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically a ...

, men and women’s (

Rowing Canada Rowing Canada Aviron (RCA), formally the Canadian Amateur Rowing Association, is a non-profit organization recognized by the Government of Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee as the national governing body for the sport of rowing in Canada. ...

); *

Cheerleading Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense Physical exercise, physical activity. It can be performed to motivate s ...

(Power Cheerleading Athletics Collegiate Nationals); *

Ultimate Frisbee Ultimate frisbee (officially simply called ultimate) is a non-contact team sport played with a disc flung by hand. Ultimate was developed in 1968 by Joel Silver, Buzzy Hellring, and Jonny Hines in Maplewood, New Jersey. Although ultimate rese ...

, open and women's ( CUUC).

Men's ice hockey

The men's ice hockey team currently competes in the

British Columbia Intercollegiate Hockey League The British Columbia Intercollegiate Hockey League (BCIHL) is a university ice hockey league based in British Columbia. The BCIHL was created with the purpose of offering a venue for competitive, high-calibre hockey for players beyond their juni ...

, a five team club hockey league spread across

and

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

br>
The team has won the league on four occasions most recently in 2021–22 season during which they went undefeated. The team also regularly plays games against NCAA and U Sports opponents. They compete in a regular cross town rivalry with the neighbouring

UBC Thunderbirds The UBC Thunderbirds are the athletic teams that represent the University of British Columbia. In Canadian intercollegiate competition, the Thunderbirds are the most successful athletic program both regionally in the Canada West Universities Athl ...

. In the summer of 2016 the program began exploring the possibility of moving the program to the NCAA Division 1 level. The men's hockey team also hosts a bi-annual tournament in January called the Great Northwest Showcase involving top

hockey programs.

2012 and 2016 NCAA Championship hosting controversies

After the 2012 regular season, Simon Fraser's men's soccer team was ranked No. 1 in the West Region and earned the right to host the West regional. However, some other schools in the Region immediately filed complaints that some of their personnel did not have passports to enter Canada. As a result, NCAA stripped Simon Fraser of the right to host the regional. Simon Fraser first rented a neutral site in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, as the site of the regional, but the NCAA eventually awarded the right of hosting the remaining matches of the regional to

Grand Canyon University Grand Canyon University (GCU) is a Private university, private For-profit higher education in the United States, for-profit Christian university in Phoenix, Arizona. The university offers degrees in over 200 areas of study and is administrativel ...

, whose men's soccer team was ranked second in the West Region after the 2012 regular season. After the 2016 regular season, Simon Fraser's men's soccer team was ranked No. 1 once again in the West Region and earned the right to host the West regional once again. However, Simon Fraser was once again forced to rent a neutral site, this time in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, as the site of the regional.

Mascot

The official mascot of SFU Athletics is McFogg the Dog, an

anthropomorphic Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics to ...

Scottish terrier The Scottish Terrier (; also known as the Aberdeen Terrier), popularly called the Scottie, is a dog breed, breed of dog. Initially one of the highland breeds of terrier that were grouped under the name of ''Skye Terrier'', it is one of five br ...

who wears a kilt. McFogg was officially adopted as the University's mascot in 1996 and is named in honour of SFU's inaugural president Patrick McTaggart-Cowan who was nicknamed "McFog". McFogg replaced an unofficial gorilla mascot which the university had previously used since the late 1980s.

References

External links

* {{British Columbia Sports Great Northwest Athletic Conference Sports clubs and teams in Burnaby