His eyes trained down the field, late Simon Fraser quarterback Bernd Dittrich is captured in an iconic pose. It's now been a decade-plus since the Austrian native passed away at the tender age of 21. His memory lives on through a scholarship endowment fund put in place by the SFU Football Alumni Association. (Photo by Ron Hole property of Simon Fraser athletics 2020. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Football

Simon Fraser’s Bernd Dittrich: A decade-plus after the iconic quarterback’s passing, a former teammate pays homage to his remarkable spirit and courage

ABBOTSFORD — Mathis Baumbach remembers how he never felt like a stranger in the summer of 2008, even though he had flown halfway around the world from Germany to join his new teammates on the Simon Fraser University football team.And all of that was due to the presence of one of the most iconic athletes […]

They still have plenty of obstacles to navigate en route to a GNAC volleyball campaign, but Friday's news of a spring season was good news for head coach Gina Schmidt's team, who are savouring their moments to be back in the gym together and training as a team. (Photo by Paul Yates property of SFU athletics 2020. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Women's Volleyball

Simon Fraser fall sports like volleyball, soccer spring forward to 2021! “We still have that carrot to go after” says SFU coach Gina Schmidt

BURNABY — Simon Fraser University volleyball players know that a lot of things are still going to have to happen in order for some semblance of a Great Northwest Athletic Conference season to unfold in the new year.

Simon Fraser running back Mason Glover feels the school's student-athletes "have been heard" in their efforts to change the name of university's sports teams. (Photo by Paul Yates property of SFU athletics 2020. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Football University Men's Basketball

Simon Fraser student-athletes vote 97 per cent in favour of change, Clan moniker could be replaced by September

BURNABY — It’s hard to remember a span of time over the entire 55-year history of Simon Fraser athletics as emotionally charged as these past three days.

UBC Thunderbirds head coach Blake Nill feels that if given a safe environment with which to play, that 2020 could be the year that the Shrum Bowl returns after a 10 year absence. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2020. All Rights Reserved)
Terry Fox's Jaden Severy (right, 23) rushed for 274 yards and three touchdowns back in November of 2018, during the early stages of a Subway Bowl playoff win over Carson Graham played at Simon Fraser's own Terry Fox Field. Severy will suit up for the Clan in 2020. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2020. All Rights Reserved)
Following championship careers at Burnaby South, the basketball recruiting road has brought Rebels' stars Jusuf Sehic (left) and Sasha Vujisic to Kamloops' Thompson Rivers WolfPack for the 2020-21 Canada West season. (Photos by Wilson Wong property of UBC Athletics 2020. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Boys Basketball University Men's Basketball

A northern migration: Why Burnaby South’s Vujisic and Sehic seem a perfect fit in their hoops reunion with Kamloops’ TRU WolfPack

BURNABY — Back in 2018, over a precious few weeks of March Madness, Jusuf Sehic and Sasha Vujisic wrote one heck of a first chapter together on the basketball court.It was a budding storyline, co-penned between a pair of Burnaby South Secondary stars, which seemed to cry out for more.After all, when was the last […]

First-year Simon Fraser Clan head coach Tina Andreana has her Clan softball team as the leaders of the GNAC pack when the campaign was halted due to the global pandemic. (Photo by Paul Yates property of Vancouver Sports Pictures 2020. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Softball

Picked for last, but all alone in first place when COVID cancelled GNAC season, SFU Clan softball sees bright future in 2021 under coach Tina Andreana

BURNABY — Getting a second chance to continue making a great first impression is all Amanda Janes and the rest of her Simon Fraser Clan softball teammates could have hoped for.

A study in determination over his entire four-year Clan career, SFU's Rysen John signed a contract with the NFL's New York Giants on Sunday. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2020. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Football

Rysen John: The Simon Fraser Clan’s pass-catching giant inks contract, set to attend main training camp with the NFL’s New York Giants

BURNABY — Its three-day virtual draft had just ended Saturday afternoon when Rysen John found out that even in these times of global pandemic, nothing has slowed NFL teams from reaching out and finding the best college football talent around.“After the last pick of the draft, I was like, ‘OK, cool,’” said John, the Simon […]

Simon Fraser rising junior guard Drew Bryson will play a huge role within the team's revamped backcourt rotation. (Photo by Paul Yates property of Vancouver Sports Pictures 2020. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Men's Basketball

Simon Fraser men’s basketball 2020-21: As a season of change looms for the Clan, here’s how all the pieces could fit!

BURNABY — You’ve no doubt heard that old cliché which labels a basketball team in transition as one going through a changing of the guard.

At the age of 42, former BYU Cougars' receiver Mike Rigell was last month named the new interim head coach of Simon Fraser Clan football. (Photo by Jacob Hall property of Simon Fraser athletics 2020. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Football

A SUNDAY READ: Hailing from a decorated football family tree, new Simon Fraser head coach Mike Rigell hopes to plant deep Burnaby Mountain roots

BURNABY — There is an old saying about how storms can test our ability to stand tall, and in the process help our roots grow deeper.For new Simon Fraser head football coach Mike Rigell, who hails from a football coaching tree which traces its lineage back to some of game’s true greats, such deep-seeded roots […]