CHAD KLASSEN
Special to the Sheaf

After demolishing UBC in the Shrum Bowl, the Simon Fraser University Clan cruised into their Canada West bye week with a playoff pulse.

However, Canada West officials have brought the Clan’s season to a crashing halt.

While preparing for a trick-or-treat outing in Manitoba on Halloween night, the football team learned that it would forfeit both their season-opening and home-opening wins over the University of British Columbia and Manitoba.

Last Wednesday, Canada West informed head coach Dave Johnson and the Clan that due to an eligibility violation, they are now officially 1-6. The Clan are now in the basement of the conference and ultimately out of the playoff race.

“It was shocking, although I’ve had the feeling . . . before the season started, Canada West tried to kick us out of the league, and through some (negotiations) we were able to at least remain in the conference for this season. So, I’ve kind of been thinking that they’ve been looking for a reason to damage the university,” said Johnson, who addressed his team in a meeting immediately after the news broke.

It’s just the latest in Canada West’s backlash over SFU’s decision to jump to the National Collegiate Athletic Association in July.

In September, the university was slapped with a harsh sentence from the conference. SFU was put on probation and stripped of its voting rights by Canada West, which has possibly seen the NCAA decision as an insult.

“I don’t think it’s a football thing, so much as it is they maybe feel disrespected or slapped in the face, and this is their response,” added Johnson.

Backup quarterback Caleb Clark, coming off a terrific Shrum Bowl performance in his first start, was the player deliberately targeted by Canada West.

The Calgary native transferred to SFU in the off-season from western Michigan, wanting to continue his football career after graduating last year.

Clark has been enrolled in the Segal Graduate School of Business from the beginning of the school year but Canada West declared him ineligible until Sept. 24. Consequently, the road victory on Aug. 29 at Thunderbird Stadium and the blowout win Sept. 11 at Terry Fox Field against Manitoba were both reneged, leaving the Clan in the Canada West cellar.

To make matters worse, the only action Clark saw in both games was a few snaps against UBC and cleanup duty in the fourth quarter against the Bisons.

“It’s definitely frustrating. It’s too bad, because (Johnson and I) both know neither of us did anything wrong or anything to be sneaky,” said Clark, who passed 204 yards during his exceptional Shrum Bowl victory. “We were told this is what (program) I needed to be in; I made sure, I double-checked, and said ”˜Is this a qualified thing?’ We got word that it was one of the qualified masters programs, so it’s just frustrating.”

“I don’t know if it’s a vendetta against us, SFU,” he added. “That’s obviously been swirling around, but the fact is that it has to hurt 90 other guys.”

The CIS eligibility rulebook clearly states that SFU was not in the wrong:

“A student-athlete, who enrolls in either a doctorate, master’s degree, or first professional degree at a member institution, and who attended another institution the previous academic year, shall retain any available CIS eligibility to participate immediately. This shall be a one-time allowance,” states the rulebook.

Knowing the rule, Johnson and Clark discussed their options and met with an academic advisor and the associate dean of graduate studies.

Clark was granted acceptance into SFU’s Segal School of Business with the help of Johnson and David Murphy, Clan athletic director, who strongly feels it’s an injustice.

“I never have spoken to the executive or Canada West as a group, so they’ve unilaterally decided to do this,” said Murphy. “The recommendation from the CIS Eligibility Committee came in: no sanctions on the player and no sanctions to the team. Canada West has decided to ignore that decision and go on their own.

“It’s a double jeopardy,” he added. “How can the national body tell you that this is the way we see it and the local body say ”˜no, no, we’re going to punish you’?”

For his part, Johnson loves Canada West — where he played for Calgary, UBC and SFU — but reckons that this bureaucratic move has infringed on the athletic experience.

“The CIS is about Canadians playing university sport. That’s what this is about and I feel like this is an injustice. If that is the goal, and that is the mission statement, to provide a level playing field for Canadian kids to have a good university experience, I feel that this is a little counterproductive,” said Johnson.

Despite the decision, Clark and the rest of the Clan aren’t going to let it ruin their final regular season game.

“We can leave a lasting legacy, and we can choose to do with that whatever we want. We can either pack it in right now and get pissed off about it or make the best of the situation,” said Clark.

“It’s hard to go from such a team high to such a team low within a couple days. (But) this is when true character’s shown by a lot of guys.”

Though hopes of aVanier Cup are shot, Johnson and the Clan may find solace in competing at Seattle’s first annual Can-Am Bowl on Nov. 21.

SFU’s forfeited games won’t have any effect on the outcome of the Huskies season.