Football | 2/27/2015 12:32:00 PM

Simon Fraser University head football coach Kelly Bates is wasting little time reaching out to connect with the football alumni, supporters, and high school football coaches in the Lower Mainland to shape a new vision for the Clan football program.
 
Bates, the former BC Lion coach, Canadian Draft coordinator and 11-year CFL vet, was named head coach of the Clan on Thursday. On March 5, Bates and the Clan football alumni will host a reception at the Segal Graduate School of Business at SFU's downtown campus (500 Granville Street & West Pender), where guests can discuss the future of the Clan football program.
 
March 5, 2015, 6-8 PM
Segal Graduate School of Business
500 Granville Street
The event is Business Casual and there will be an open bar
RSVP required to: Kurtis Charchun at kurtis_charchun@sfu.ca
 
"The Simon Fraser University football program belongs to every student-athlete who ever wore the uniform and I want to take the time to get to know everyone and listen to what they have to say," said Bates. "Together I believe we can make Clan football into a program that everyone is proud of, and a destination for the top high school football players in this country."
 
"SFU is the only NCAA program in Canada, we play American competition, and we play four-down football, and this makes us different from every other university in Canada," said Bates.
 
Along with a presentation from Bates and SFU athletics director Milton Richards, guests at the reception will hear from member of the football community, including BC Lions Vice-President George Chayka player Dean Valli, New Westminster Secondary School head football coach, Farhan Lalji, and others. Former Clan and BC Lion Giulio Caravatta will MC the event.
 
"Since coming to BC, Kelly has made it a point of getting involved in our sport at the grass roots level and many coaches in BC have a strong sense of who he is, not because he was in the CFL, but because of his commitment to the sport in our province at all levels," said Farhan Lalji, the head football coach at New Westminster Secondary School and broadcaster with TSN. "Kelly is real and he is trustworthy, and the coaches in BC see that. And if they haven't seen it yet, they will soon."
 
"My goal is to create a program where high school coaches in this province and in this country will feel good about recommending SFU to their athletes," continued Bates. "We have a lot of work to do to win back the trust of the football community but we are going to do this right to ensure everyone feels good about the program again."
 
Bates, 39, is a native of Humboldt, SK, now living in Coquitlam, BC. He is the 10th head coach in the history of the SFU football program and joined SFU after three seasons as a position coach and Canadian Draft coordinator with the BC Lions.
 
The SFU football locker room is undergoing a major renovation to create an environment to better support the student athletes.  Clan alumni are spear-heading the Locker Room Scholarship Program and alumni can become involved by sponsoring an individual locker.