The 2021 Simon Fraser football team represented Simon Fraser University (SFU) in the 2021 NCAA Division II football season as a member of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC). The team played its home game at Terry Fox Field in Burnaby, British Columbia. The team finished the season with an overall record of 1âÂÂ7, going 0âÂÂ4 in GNAC play. Simon Fraser was led by interim head coach Mike Rigell in his first season as the program's coach. On November 30, the university announced that Rigell would become the program's full-time head coach.
The university's athletic teams previously used the name "Clan" and were commonly known as the "Clansmen"; the university retired those names in 2020. Until a new name was picked, the athletic teams competed simply as "Simon Fraser" or "SFU". On September 6, 2022, the university revealed that the athletic teams would now be known as the "Red Leafs". The name was chosen after university officials consulted with several student groups and members from nine Indigenous Host Nations.
The GNAC preseason prediction poll was released on August 10, 2021. Simon Fraser was predicted to finish 3rd (last) in the conference.
The game against TexasâÂÂPermian Basin was cancelled due to international travel restrictions on the USâÂÂCanada border relating to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Simon Fraser kicker Kristie Elliott became the first female player in Canadian college football history to both play and score in a game.