This would be the Red Leafs' final season as the university announced it would be dropping football on April 4, 2023.
Conference change and end of football program
The Red Leafs had previously competed as a member of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) since 2010; however, the GNAC dropped football after the 2021 season. Simon Fraser, along with fellow GNAC members Central Washington and Western Oregon, joined the LSC as football-only members.[1] Following the 2022 season, the LSC announced that it would not be extending Simon Fraser's membership past the 2023–24 season.[2]
On April 4, 2023, the university announced that it would be disbanding the football program.[3] Earlier, on February 1, athletic director Theresa Hanson and head coach Mike Rigell released a joint statement that the Red Leafs would play in 2023; however, an internal memo written around this time, and publicly released on June 28 via Business in Vancouver, showed there were no plans to continue football past the 2023 season. The memo also suggested that the football program be dropped prior to the 2023 season as the continuation of the program was deemed to not be feasible.[4]