Simon Fraser guard Christian 'Boots' Butenschoen (66) and the rest of the young Simon Fraser offensive line gets a stern test Saturday when it opens the season on the road against the NCAA Div. 1 FCS Idaho Vandals. (Photo by Paul Yates property of Vancouver Sports Pictures 2021. All Rights Reserved)
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After a lost 2020 season, Saturday’s kick-off at Idaho can’t come soon enough for ‘Boots’ Butenschoen and Simon Fraser’s young offensive line!

BURNABY — Christian Butenschoen is not buying all of this talk of youth being served along the trenches of perhaps the youngest offensive line in all of NCAA D2 football.“Even though we’re young, the chemistry there is looking good right now,” the team’s 6-foot-3, 290 pound sophomore left guard out of Bellingham High explained earlier […]

SFU cornerback Jerrell Cunmmings, pictured during Tuesday's 2021 fall training camp practice at Fox Field, has developed into a game-changing talent within the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of Varsity Letters 2021. All Rights Reserved)
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SFU Football opener 2021: Now that he’s turned a corner, Jerrell Cummings is ready to roar as the heart-and-soul leader in Simon Fraser’s defensive secondary!

BURNABY — Jerrell Cummings was all of 17 years of age when he suited up for his first Simon Fraser fall football camp.With the start of the 2021 season coming this Saturday afternoon (1 p.m.) at the FCS Div. 1 Idaho Vandals, it’s amazing when you consider how far, over the course of two adversity-filled […]

Simon Fraser returning quarterbacks Justin Seiber (left) and Brandon Niksich are setting a tone of togetherness as they battle it out for the GNAC team's starting quarterback job. (Photos by Howard Tsumura property of Varsity Letters 2021. All Rights Reserved)
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SFU Football 2021: In its return-to-play GNAC season, classy duelling QB-1s Seiber and Niksich keep shared focus on team fortunes!

BURNABY MOUNTAIN — It’s a vast understatement to say that a lot has happened since the last time the football team at Simon Fraser University found itself in the day-to-day preparations associated with the run-up to a season-opening game.It’s also the best way to set the scene for the NCAA’s only non-U.S. school, which as […]

Former Simon Fraser and Vancouver College product Rysen John made a trio of catches Saturday as his New York Giants faced the New York Jets in the preseason opener for both teams. (File photo property of USA Today 2021. All Rights Reserved)
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Rysen John’s NFL preseason debut: We go inside the three catches snared Saturday by Simon Fraser’s own New York Giant!

Rysen John’s journey to the NFL has begun its next act, and as part of the en masse opening to the 2021 exhibition season, all of that added up to his first critical reviews on U.S. national television.And for those catching the exploits of the former Simon Fraser University receiver, now doing his thing as […]

SFU head coach Mike Rigell has listened and learned at every stop along his coaching journey. (Photo by Paul Yates property of Vancouver Sports Pictures 2021. All Rights Reserved)
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VL Podcast 01.20.21: Simon Fraser head coach Mike Rigell on his football journey from BYU to the sidelines of Terry Fox Field!

LANGLEY — From a college football career at Brigham Young University to an NFL coaching internship under Andy Reid and Eric Bieniemy with the Kansas City Chiefs, Mike Rigell has travelled a long and winding road on his journey to becoming the head coach of Simon Fraser University football. Today, Coach Rigell joins the Varsity […]

Simon Fraser running back Bo Palmer was part of the program's wave of early success in the GNAC. (Photo by Ron Hole property of Simon Fraser athletics 2020. All Rights Reserved)
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The VL Podcast welcomes Bo Palmer: Simon Fraser’s record-setting running back looks back on Shrum Bowl and the school’s early days in the NCAA!

BURNABY — It’s Wednesday and time to wrap up our two-part series of Shrum Bowl memories by chatting with Simon Fraser University running back Bo Palmer. A man of many talents, Palmer not only left his mark on the NCAA-era of football at SFU, he enjoyed a little-known career as a child actor. Originally a […]

Simon Fraser linebacker Griffin Barrett, a weight-room disciple, saw his discipline pay off last season after leading the Great Northwest Athletic Conference in tackles. Griffin and SFU football kick off their inaugural fund-raising Lift-a-Thon this Monday. (Photo by Paul Yates property of SFU athletics 2020. All Rights Reserved)
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A football team’s lifting experience: Why the culture of Simon Fraser’s Lift-a-Thon is worth its weight in gold!

BURNABY — The Simon Fraser football team has already shown how adept it is at carrying the weight of disappointment that comes with a COVID-19-cancelled college football season.Now, over the course of a five-day run beginning Monday, the NCAA’s lone non-U.S. team will be demonstrating the best ways in which they have collectively lifted each […]

Simon Fraser football hit the turf Wednesday, opening up with its first on-field session of the fall under new head coach Mike Rigell. The school's new football fieldhouse complex on Terry Fox Field, nearing completion atop Burnaby Mountain, can be seen in the background. (Photo by Jacob Hall property of Simon Fraser athletics 2020. All Rights Reserved)
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No games for Simon Fraser football, but “…it’s like bricks off our shoulders” says SFU coach Mike Rigell of team’s return to Terry Fox Field

BURNABY — A new head coach, a new stadium, a pending new nickname, and of course, in these times of global pandemic, a new reality of uncertainty in the world of collegiate athletics.

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)