February 24, 2026
A Letter from the Burnaby Mountain Hockey Alumni Society to the Hockey Community
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A letter from the Burnaby Mountain Hockey Alumni Society to the hockey community:
Following SFU's announcement regarding retiring the SFU Lacrosse and Non-Conference Hockey teams and the university departing the NCAA, we have acknowledged the university's position and will not pursue operating the team following the 2025/26 season.
The SFU Non-Conference team was established in 2023 in order to explore an opportunity within Canada for student-athletes to compete against the top competition within the NCAA. This was a bold initiative surrounded by uncertainty - we had little commitment that SFU would or could support a permanent NCAA Division 1 hockey program. We believed that hockey at this level could be highly successful both financially and competitively in Canada, and we aimed to demonstrate the opportunity through a full exhibition schedule against NCAA Division 1 opponents. With vocal support from many donors, sponsors, NCAA teams and conferences, our goal was to find a path to NCAA membership. SFU Hockey has always aimed high in its mission to develop and grow university hockey in British Columbia and create a world-class experience for student-athletes.
As a club, 100% of the SFU Hockey operating budget is funded independent of institutional funding. We are extremely proud of our coaches and student-athletes for organizing, fundraising and competing over three highly challenging 20 game seasons against 40 NCAA Division 1 opponents as well as top-end competition from USports, ACAC, ACHA and the BCIHL. The team had strong on-ice results including 10 games against NCAA Division 1 opponents decided by 2 goals or less, wins against University of Alaska-Anchorage and University of Alaska-Fairbanks, a tie against #2 ranked Boston University (all NCAA Division 1), and wins against UBC, TWU, Maryville University and Briercrest College. Results such as these between club and funded varsity sports are rare, especially at the NCAA level.
When SFU announced it would depart the NCAA and pursue USports membership in November, we submitted a proposal that men's and women's hockey be included in SFU's Canada West application, having already proven the Non-Conference team's ability to compete against USports opponents. Unfortunately the university did not accept our proposal, and following this decision our student-athletes and coaching staff have begun to pursue opportunities at other NCAA and USports programs.
Competing at this level over the past three years would not have been possible without a supportive community and the determination of a number of key individuals. We thank BC Hockey for supporting our desire for elevated competition by offering membership and professional on-ice officiating for an exhibition-only schedule. We thank Robin Wyss and the Vancouver Canucks Alumni Association for contributing scholarship funds, Dave Whitworth and the Vancouver Canucks, and our many corporate sponsors for supporting our home games, equipment and apparel. We thank Mayor Hurley and the City of Burnaby for keeping university hockey at the Bill Copeland Sports Centre and embracing our active presence in the community. We thank our SFU Hockey alumni for stepping up and answering our call for financial support and leadership. We thank our donors including Kevin Fraser, Ryan Maxwell, Darcy Biagioni, Frode Strand-Nielsen and Mike Moscone for their support of our student-athletes. But most importantly, we thank coach Mark Coletta and SFU hockey alumnus David Rennie for making SFU Hockey possible with their unwavering vision and drive since 2008. Mark and Dave have worked tirelessly and against all odds to build SFU Hockey as a competitor at the highest level. Their commitment to student-athletes and maintaining athletics as a vital component of the university experience has impacted hundreds of SFU Hockey graduates to date, and we hope that impact will continue for years to come.
Moving forward, the Non-Conference team will wrap up its season on the road against Stonehill University and University of Michigan (NCAA Division 1). Looking ahead to 2026/27 we will embrace the SFU BCIHL team led by coach Guido Lamberti-Charles as the "SFU Hockey club" and focus on growing the BCIHL game within BC.