Hall of Fame
"The Bear," as Chris Beaton is known, is the longest-serving and winningest coach in SFU history, with an incredible track record of sending his players to the next level. An incredible 85 players who competed at SFU with Beaton as head coach between 1983 and 2005 have been selected in the CFL Draft. They include athletes such as defensive tackle Doug Brown, fullback Sean Millington, offensive guard Bob Molle, and centre Angus Reid.
Brown played in the National Football League with Washington before moving to Winnipeg in the CFL. He spent the rest of his career with the Blue Bombers, earning eight CFL All-Star selections, and the league's Most Outstanding Canadian Award in 2001. Brown is a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.
Millington won two Grey Cups in his career with the BC Lions and was a three-time league all-star. He was twice named the winner of the CFL's Most Outstanding Canadian Award (1997, 2000). Molle is two-time Grey Cup champion with Winnipeg and won a silver medal in super heavyweight wrestling for Canada at the 1984 Olympic Summer Games in Los Angeles. Reid enjoyed a 13-year playing career in which he won two Grey Cups and earned a CFL all-star nod in 2011.
Glen Suitor, a three-time CFL all-star at defensive back and 1989 Grey Cup champion – played his senior season in 1983, Beaton's first as SFU head coach.
A member of the school's original football team in 1965, Beaton played through to 1968 as part the program's first senior class, and served as captain.
He returned to Burnaby Mountain to coach the defensive line from 1973 to 1980. After two seasons away, Beaton was hired to succeed Ron Woodward beginning with the 1983 season. SFU was competing in the NAIA at the time, and moved to CIS for the 2002 campaign.
Beaton guided SFU to its first playoff triumphs in school history in 2003 when the team won the Hardy Cup as Canada West Conference champions.
He took part in two Shrum Bowls against the University of B.C. as a player, winning both, and went 9-9 in the rivalry game as a coach.
Beaton was inducted into the BC Football Hall of Fame as builder in 2016. The next year, he won the Bob Ackles Lifetime Achievement Award at the Orange Helmet Awards, sponsored by the B.C. Lions.
