Simon Fraser, Canada’s only NCAA member, is stepping down from the football program

Simon Fraser University, Canada’s only NCAA football team, is disbanding its program, the university announced Tuesday.

SFU found itself in a difficult spot after the Great Northwest Athletic Conference dropped its football sponsorship after the 2021 season, making the Red Leafs the only football member of the Lone Star Conference in 2022. The conference is primarily made up of teams. of Texas, announced in February that it was not renewing its relationship with SFU, located about 140 miles north of Seattle.

“This is a difficult decision and not taken lightly,” SFU President Joy Johnson said in a statement. “With the recent announcement that the team has not been invited to continue in the Lone Star Conference, we will not have a conference starting in 2024. The continued uncertainty creates an unbearable experience for students.

“The university has carefully considered all possible options and as a management team we have decided that football is no longer a viable sport for SFU.”

SFU launched its football program in 1965 and competed at the NAIA level until 2001, when it switched from American football to Canadian football. After eight years, the school switched back to the American version and became an NCAA Division II program. It posted an 18-99 record as an NCAA school and failed to win more than one game in any of the last six seasons.

SFU continues to sponsor 18 NCAA Division II sports, Johnson said.