(Photo Electric Umbrella/Liam Richards)

By Ben Tompkins

Football Partnership

Roughrider Foundation supporting Huskie football

Aug 22, 2023 | 5:23 PM

Huskie football is getting a big boost of support from the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

The Saskatchewan Roughrider Foundation (SRF), a charitable arm of the football club, was created four years ago, in order to give more money back to amateur football, education, and health.

In the past, the Roughriders would’ve given the University of Saskatchewan Huskies a small grant, because they’re not a charity.

Now, because they have a charitable foundation, funding has increased dramatically, leading to a donation of $180,00 this past season.

“Because we’re a foundation for a football team, it’s really important to give back to football, because we want to grow the game of football in the province,” explained SRF executive director, Cindy Fuchs.

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“We want to continue to have kids that play football get to the leap stage like the Huskies and hopefully, eventually play for the Riders because we need Canadians. Secondly, we also grow our fan base, because those kids that love football actually become Riders fans in the future. It’s a process, but it’s great for us to be able to support the growth of the game in our province.”

Most of the funding that is given back to amateur football comes from the foundation’s 50/50 draws, with the Huskies being one of six elite teams that they fund.

When the U of S receives that money, they aren’t given any stipulations except one: that 10 per cent of the funds go to scholarships.

The Dogs, however, always give more than just 10 per cent.

“I know that from our perspective anyway and I’m sure from theirs as well, is that it allows us to keep Saskatchewan kids in Saskatchewan to play and go to school… I’m super proud that we are actually able to give those elite teams an opportunity to not have to fundraise for operations,” Fuchs told HuskieFAN.

“The Huskies are a fantastic partner, they really value their partners, and we can feel that. We want to be seen as a really strong partner in the province and we love the opportunity to profile both our foundations to raise more money for them and also raise their incredibly good program.”

The Roughrider Foundation also supports the Dog’s Breakfast and their kickoff luncheon, while always buying tables and giving them prizes.

That support, which goes beyond just the funds, was echoed by both the chief athletics officer for the Huskies in Shannon Chinn, and the head coach of the football team in Scott Flory.

“It’s not just about the funding that they give us, it’s the opportunity to partner together and the collaboration that we have with the Riders. They’ve been supporting university football in the province for as long as I can remember and it’s difference-making. We’re always challenged in having enough scholarships for the amount of talent that we have on our football team and they help us with that,” Chinn said.

“I think that the top-down connectivity and aspiration factor that the Riders create serves the football community in general, and just the sport top down. I’ve got friends trying to model what Saskatchewan does and I think the importance of the sport starts with the Riders and the community culture that they’ve created over the years,” Flory added.

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Ben.Tompkins@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter @BenTompkins_8