By Braden Keith on SwimSwam
A grand cross-border experiment will come to an end next year as the lone Canadian team in the NCAA Simon Fraser University will join the Canadian U Sports league instead.
SFU becomes U Sports’ 59th member university, and was affirmed to join the organization in June.
For the 2027-2028 academic year, Simon Fraser will join the Canada West conference with teams in men’s and women’s basketball, cross country, indoor track and field, soccer, swimming, and wrestling.
As part of the move, the school plans to cut its men’s and women’s golf programs, women’s softball program, and men’s and women’s outdoor track & field programs, which have no U Sports national championships. The school will “also take this opportunity to review the impact of this decision on indoor track,” according to a press release.
The school will add men’s and women’s volleyball teams for the 2027-2028 season.
Simon Fraser is located in Burnaby, British Columbia, about 20 miles from the U.S. border, and has a long history of competing in American-based collegiate organizations.
SFU initially competed in the NAIA from its founding in the 1960s until 2000.
Then they left some sports in NAIA while others joined the Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union, a former name of U SPORTS, where they competed from 2000 to 2009 and won t13 national championships: six in women’s wrestling, two in men’s wrestling, and five in women’s basketball.
In 2010, they left both CIS (U Sports) and the NAIA to join NCAA Division II competition. At the time, the school said that it would save money on membership fees. It only cost about $500 to be an NCAA member, and over $40,000 to be a member of the U SPORTS predecessors.
The school also cited travel costs – they would have to travel up to 1,870 kilometers by air to Winnipeg for Canada West games, and the NCAA pays for travel costs to championships.
The school also felt that it would give them a competitive advantage when recruiting Canadian athletes.
The school was placed on probation by CIS (U SPORTS) in 2009, prompting the school to leave early at the time.
The school is now citing opposite reasons for returning home to Canada. They estimate $1.1 million in savings from the move back, citing “financial and logistical sustainability” as a “critical aspect of the decision-making process.”
“After having concluded a site visit this spring and meetings with Simon Fraser leadership and athletic department staff, we are proud to confirm the Red Leafs will be rejoining U SPORTS for the 2027-28 season,” said Pierre Aresnault, CEO of U Sports. “Simon Fraser’s record of achievement both athletically and academically will make them a great fit within U SPORTS and we are thrilled to welcome them as they make the transition into the U SPORTS fold.”
Simon Fraser’s swimming & diving program had a lot of success at the NCAA level. The women’s team finished 12th at last year’s NCAA Division II Championship meet. They won four NCAA D2 event titles, scored at NCAAs 11 times, and had a best finish of 7th place in 2025.
The men’s team didn’t score last season, but won two event national championships while in the NCAA and had a best finish of 9th place in 2019.
The team controversially were blocked out of the 2023 NCAA Championships because they didn’t swim enough sanctioned meets to be eligible.
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