Blaine to host four university football games this fall

College football is coming to Blaine.

Simon Fraser University (SFU) announced August 16 it moved four home football games from its stadium in Burnaby, B.C. to Blaine High School stadium due to Canada’s vaccination requirement causing difficulty for traveling teams.

SFU will play Texas A&M University-Kingsville October 1, Western New Mexico University October 22, Angelo State University October 29 and West Texas A&M University November 12 in the Lone Star Conference. All four games are on Saturdays and will start at 6 p.m. General admission tickets will be $15 at the gate. Youth, 8 years old and younger, and seniors, 65 years and older, are free. The games will also be livestreamed at lonestarconferencenetwork.com.

New Blaine High School athletic director Chas Kok coordinated with SFU to bring the games to Blaine. He said part of admissions will go toward the high school’s athletics program.

“I know Blaine is really passionate about sports, having grown up not very far from here in Lynden, and I thought to have Division II football here in Blaine would be a special thing for the community,” Kok said. “We’re excited to host the games.”

With a capacity of 2,000 and artificial turf, Blaine High School’s new stadium makes it a fit replacement for SFU’s Terry Fox Field. It is also about 30 miles south of SFU, across the U.S./Canada border.

“We are all looking forward to a time when the impact of the global pandemic will be behind us,” said Theresa Hanson, senior director of athletics and recreation at SFU. “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.”

SFU joined the Lone Star Conference in November 2021 along with other Great Northwest Athletic Conference football schools Central Washington University and Western Oregon University, creating a 10-team football conference.