The 2023 Lone Star Conference football schedule was thrown into disorder on Tuesday after Simon Fraser announced they are discontinuing football, effective immediately.

“This is a difficult decision and not one taken lightly. With the recent announcement that the team has not been invited to continue in the Lone Star Conference, we do not have a conference to play in beginning in 2024,” SFU President Joy Johnson said in a release. “The ongoing uncertainty creates an unacceptable experience for students. The university has carefully considered all available options, and as a leadership team, we concluded that football is no longer a feasible sport for SFU.”

The decision to eliminate football places a hole in every LSC team’s schedule, with sources indicating the conference was preparing to release the 2023 LSC schedule. Most teams have scheduled two non-conference games for the upcoming season while expecting to play nine conference opponents.

Each team will now decide whether to fill the hole in their schedule or use it as a bye week. Hardin-Simmons coach Jesse Burleson is still looking to complete his schedule and has expressed the Cowboys have possible open dates for Sept. 16, Sept. 23, and Oct. 14.

Simon Fraser joined the Lone Star Conference as an affiliate member when the LSC and Great Northwest Athletic Conference combined for football purposes only. The LSC is expected to add Sul Ross State before the 2024 season and told SFU they would not be invited to continue in the conference with the Lobos joining.

SFU completed its final football season with a 1-9 record, including a 46-14 win over West Texas A&M in their last LSC contest. The addition of the Red Leafs and the CoVID-19 pandemic made life difficult for all teams, with Canada’s restrictions remaining in place for most of last season.