Sept. 23, 2009
SPOKANE, Wash. - Simon Fraser University has officially accepted an invitation to become the 10th full-fledged active member of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, GNAC Commissioner Richard Hannan has announced.
Hannan made the announcement during a press conference on the SFU campus in Burnaby, B.C. Wednesday.
The GNAC is a NCAA Division II conference, which currently has member institutions in five states including Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Alaska. Simon Fraser's membership is effectively immediately. Its teams will begin competing in the conference in the fall of 2010.
The Canadian's school membership application to the GNAC was unanimously approved by the GNAC Management Council and the GNAC CEO Board, which is composed of the presidents and chancellors of the nine universities.
"The member institutions of the GNAC have been considering expansion for a number of years," Dr. Philip Eaton, who is the president of Seattle Pacific University and the chair of the GNAC CEO Board, said.
"We have looked at a huge number of possible institutions. Simon Fraser University is ideal and fits the profile of our conference extremely well. So we celebrate the culmination of a lot of hard work and eagerly welcome our friends at Simon Fraser into our conference."
Earlier this summer, Simon Fraser became the first institution outside the United States to enter the NCAA membership process after the Division II Membership Committee accepted the institution's application during a meeting in Indianapolis.
"The addition of Simon Fraser opens an exciting new chapter for the GNAC," Hannan said. "We are extremely pleased that Simon Fraser has accepted our invitation to become a member of the GNAC. SFU provides us with another quality institution - academically, athletically and geographically."
Simon Fraser will compete in the conference in football, volleyball, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's indoor track and field, men's and women's outdoor track and field, softball and golf.
SFU currently sponsors teams in 14 of the GNAC's 15 officially recognized sports. The only conference sport in which it doesn't participate is baseball.
Simon Fraser began a two-year candidacy period for NCAA membership this fall. It also must complete at least one year of provisional status before being accepted as full-time Division II member, meaning the Canadian institution could become an active Division II member - and become eligible for post-season play - by the fall 2012.
Simon Fraser becomes the 10th full-fledged GNAC member joining the University of Alaska Anchorage, the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Central Washington University, Montana State University Billings, Northwest Nazarene University (Idaho), Saint Martin's University (Wash.), Seattle Pacific University (Wash.), Western Oregon University and Western Washington University.
In addition Humboldt State University (Calif.) and Dixie State College (Utah) are affiliate members in football.
"The NCAA is very excited that Simon Fraser has been accepted to start the membership process with Division II and has been invited by the GNAC to become a new conference member," NCAA Division II Vice President Mike Racy.
"The next few years will be very important as Simon Fraser seeks active Division II membership and the NCAA is pleased that the GNAC office and its member schools will be there to assist Simon Fraser with this important initiative."
"No one would dispute that the highest level of intercollegiate sport in North America is played at the NCAA, and that's where we want to be - in the NCAA and as a member of the GNAC," SFU athletic director David Murphy said. "We're a Division II fit in philosophy, with our emphasis on student-athlete balance, facilities and level of athletics competition. We're looking forward to a long and fruitful relationship with the GNAC."
"This (joining the GNAC and NCAA) is a first for a Canadian university, and it reflects our long history of competing in U.S. varsity associations and conferences," said SFU President Michael Stevenson.
"It means a high level of competition and challenge for our athletes. As has always been the case, our primary concern is that our athletes succeed as students. The NCAA and GNAC have strong academic requirements and we will maintain the high academic standards that SFU has always demanded from all Clan teams," Stevenson added.
