As far as game adjustments and cancelations go, the COVID-19 pandemic is behind every one in college football. At least everyone in America.
On Tuesday, Simon Fraser University, the NCAA's only Canadian member, announced it has been forced to move four home games from its Burnaby, British Columbia stadium to a high school field in Blaine, Washington.
The Canadian government requires all foreign visitors to be vaccinated against COVID-19, and so Simon Fraser has moved games with Texas A&M-Kingsville (Oct. 1), Western New Mexico (Oct. 22), Angelo State (Oct. 29) and West Texas A&M (Nov. 12) to Washington.
Games with Central Washington and the University of British Columbia will remain at SFU's traditional home of Terry Fox Field.
Blaine is roughly 28 miles from Burnaby. The high school field Simon Fraser will use offers 2,000 covered seats, slightly smaller than the 2,800 total seats at Terry Fox Field.
"We are all looking forward to a time when the impact of the global pandemic will be behind us," said AD Theresa Hanson. "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."
As the only Division II programs in the Pacific Northwest, Simon Fraser, Central Washington and Western Oregon were forced to join the Lone Star Conference. Simon Fraser will play road games at Midwestern State (Wichita Falls, Texas), UT-Permian Basin and Eastern New Mexico this fall.
Simon Fraser did not play at all in 2020 and managed just six games in 2021, two of them at home. Tuesday's announcement means SFU will have played just four games at Terry Fox Field from the end of the 2019 season to the beginning of 2023.