Simon Fraser Joins NCAA

((HT: Vancouver Sun/Lyndon Little))

Somewhere Dr. Gordon Shrum must be smiling.

The first chancellor of Simon Fraser University and a great supporter of college athletics who passed away in 1985, Dr. Shrum got a little carried away when, at the school's founding in 1965, he famously predicted that one day the SFU football team would challenge for the Rose Bowl.

Given the realities of big-time U.S. college football, that's never going to happen. But Dr. Shrum would doubtlessly have been delighted Friday when the announcement came out of Indianapolis that SFU has been accepted as the first non-U.S. school in the 99-year history of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

"This is a first for a Canadian university, and it reflects SFU's long history of competing in U.S. varsity associations and conferences," SFU President Michael Stevenson ((pictured, thanks Vancouver Sun/Glenn Baglo)) said in a statement. "It means a high level of competition and challenge for our athletes. As has always been the case, our primary concern is that our athletes succeed as students. The NCAA has strong academic requirements and we will maintain the high academic standards that SFU has always demanded from all Clan teams."

"It's exciting to be the first, but it's not about me. I just happened to be here when it happened," added SFU athletic director Dr. David Murphy, who steered the school through the application process. "It's humbling to know we have been chosen as the first foreign university to compete in the NCAA as a member. I believe we are reaching back to the original intentions and philosophy of the university's founders: to offer a great Canadian education with the ability to compete athletically in the NCAA."
It's also a proud moment for Lorne Davies, the first SFU athletic director and first head football coach.

"It's the most important step in SFU athletic history," commented Davies. "The athletics department is keeping in step with the university's commitment to provide excellence in education and athletics and to challenge our students and student athletes to be the best."
Also pleased with the news is one of the Clan sport's most high-profile alumni, Jay Triano, head coach of the NBA's Toronto Raptors.

"To be the best, athletes need to compete against the best and I believe that by joining the NCAA, Simon Fraser University is putting themselves in a position to do just that," he said. "On top of that, the student athletes who attend SFU will also benefit from the world-class education that the school provides. As a proud alumnus, I couldn't be happier for everyone involved."

Now they are in the NCAA the final step for SFU is to be accepted by the Great Northern Athletic Conference — a Div-2 group spread over five States (Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Montana and Idaho). That, however, is expected to be just a rubber stamp as the GNAC has been championing the SFU application every step of the way.

Some of the GNAC schools SFU will be competing against include Central and Western Washington, Seattle Pacific University plus Alaska-Fairbanks and Alaska-Anchorage.

GNAC commissioner Richard Hannan said Friday from Spokane he'd like to see SFU's phase-in process fast-tracked so the school could play a full conference schedule by 2010-11. However, Dr. Murphy believes 2011-12 is more realistic.

"There are a lot of compliance and eligibility issues to work through," says the former Halifax dental surgeon who took up his post at SFU last year.

Other issues that remain unresolved include what will happen to all the SFU-UBC rivalries. The Point Grey school is also considering a possible move to the NCAA, but has deferred any decision on applying for at least another year. Whether the annual Shrum Bowl football game between UBC and SFU will continue and in what format remains to be worked out.

Here's your highlights from last year's Shrum Bowl, thanks to our friends at the Clan Athletics Network and SFU their own selves...