Simon Fraser Red Leafs
athletic teams of Simon Fraser University
The SFU Red Leafs or Simon Fraser Red Leafs teams (formerly the Simon Fraser Clan) represent Simon Fraser University (SFU), which is located in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. The Red Leafs are members of NCAA Division II and are the only Canadian or non-American university affiliated with the U.S.-based National Collegiate Athletic Association. 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 surrounding those terms. In September 2022, the updated nickname "Red Leafs" was announced.
In November 2025, SFU announced that it would seek readmission to U Sports, citing financial and logistical constraints for the decision. The application was successful and it was announced that the Red Leafs would compete in the Canada West conference beginning in the 2027–28 season.
History
SFU's teams formerly played in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics of the United States for all sports. In 1997, Simon Fraser sought to join the NCAA 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 (now U Sports).
“Simon Fraser Red Leafs” enters the record as athletic teams of Simon Fraser University. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Simon, Fraser and Leafs can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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Chronology, provenance and viewpoint should be read together before a broad social or political interpretation is accepted. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 29, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3930749. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 2 carry qualifiers and 1 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2020, 2022, 2025 and 2027.
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This entry incorporates text from “Simon Fraser Red Leafs” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.