B.C. Lions players run onto the field before a CFL football game against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in Vancouver, on Friday, October 1, 2021. B.C. Lions owner Amar Doman says he will be matching donations to help save Simon Fraser University's discontinued football program. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
BURNABY, B.C. – B.C. Lions owner Amar Doman says he will be matching donations to help save Simon Fraser University’s discontinued football program.
School president Joy Johnson announced April 4 that Simon Fraser was discontinuing its football program, effective immediately. Johnson said the decision wasn’t financially based, rather on the Texas-based Lone Star Conference’s announcement it would not renew its football affiliation with the Burnaby, B.C. school past the 2023 campaign.
In a video posted on the Lions’ Twitter page, Doman said he and the team will match the amount for every 100 donations, up to a maximum of $500,000.
Doman also mentioned April 25 being “Save SFU football day,” in reference to the donations. He also asked that people sign a petition available online to save the program.
A group of Simon Fraser football players filed a lawsuit against the university in B.C. Supreme Court on April 13 aimed at stopping the discontinuation of the school’s football program.
SFU is the only Canadian school in the NCAA and has had a football team since 1965.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 19, 2023.
