There won't be much football played on Terry Fox Field at Simon Fraser University's (SFU) Burnaby campus during the 2022 season as the school will be playing a large portion of its home schedule south of the border.
SFU's athletics department announced on Tuesday (Aug. 16) that four regular-season games scheduled to be played in Burnaby have been moved to Blaine, Wash., because of Canada's COVID-19 entry requirement that all visitors entering the country be fully vaccinated.
SFU will play at Blaine High School against Texas A&M-Kingsville on Oct. 1, Western New Mexico on Oct. 22, Angelo State on Oct. 29 and West Texas A&M on Nov. 12.
A non-conference game that was scheduled for Sept. 10 against Montana State-Northern has been cancelled.
"We are all looking forward to a time when the impact of the global pandemic will be behind us," senior director of athletics and recreation at SFU Theresa Hanson said in a news release.
"This news is especially disappointing for our student-athletes, but we continue to support them and advocate for ways to ensure they can train and compete. We are looking forward to creating a home-field atmosphere in Blaine for these games."
The pandemic caused the cancellation of the 2020 season and forced SFU to play two home games and six road games during the 2021 season.
In November 2021, SFU and Great Northwest Athletic Conference football schools Western Oregon and Central Washington were accepted by Lone Star Conference Presidents and Athletic Directors as affiliate members, helping create a 10-team conference.
SFU says, with only three NCAA Div. II football schools remaining in the Pacific Northwest, it was an essential move to guarantee a full conference schedule.
With the announcement of four home games moving to Washington state, the only games that will be played at Terry Fox Field are on Sept. 17 against Central Washington at 1 p.m. and the Shrum Bowl against UBC on Dec. 2 at 6 p.m.
