University of Saskatchewan's chief athletics officer Shannon Chinn has concerns about to the upcoming Canadian Footbal League field changes.
"As far as thinking about it from my position, universities right now across the country are quite stretched when you talk about budget and even before that happened, infrastructure changes at universities did not happen quickly. There are a couple of things within the rule changes that if we adopted them, I could see them being doable," Chinn said on the 620 CKRM Rider Broadcast Network.
"It's 110-to-100 yards. Currently at Griffith Stadium, our turf is stitched in, our lines and numbers are all stitched in. We're talking millions of dollars there and I don't see the path forward there right now."
Chinn detailed how the U Sports leaders reacted to the CFL news.
"Pierre Arsenault, Matthew Davies and the group found out at the last moment. They're doing a good job collecting data from different universities to figure out what fields look like, when your turf went in, what the dimensions of your end zone are, if you're painted or stitched, all those sorts of things," Chinn explained.
"They're in that data collection mode right now so we have a better idea across the landscape what everybody is sitting at right now. They have booked a meeting so that we can all get together and start the conversation, but that conversation has not started yet. We've had a little bit of one with my colleagues and with the other Canada West football schools, but definitely nothing in depth."
CFL commissioner Stewart Johnston unveiled the new three-down league game changes on Monday, September 22, which will be implemented over the next two years. In 2026, all CFL teams will be required to have benches on opposite sides of the field. Additionally, there will be a new 35-second play clock, replacing the previous 20-second one. New changes will be implemented for the rouge, it will only be awarded if the returner fails to take it out of the end zone or takes a knee. That is different from what is now, where a rogue is given for either a missed field goal or punt when the ball goes out of bounds in the end zone. In 2027, the goalpost will be moved to the back of the end zone. All CFL fields will be shortened from 110 to 100 yards while the end zones will be shortened from 20 to 15 yards.
"I'd start by seeing a little bit of excitement, I love the Canadian Football League. I grew up in the Rider rookie section, I'm from Regina and have been a big fan of the Canadian Football League for a long time," Chinn explained.
"Now working in U Sports football, it's exciting that they're looking to make changes to increase the fan base, increase excitement, keep the pace of the game up and keep the entertainment factor. I think when you take a step back and think about some of the expenses that may come with some of the changes, it gives you a little bit of pause to figure out how exactly that's going to roll out. Even though we're looking at it in 2027 and everybody's like, 'Well, that's a long time down the road at a university for infrastructure changes.' That's not very far away."
Before Chinn went to the Huskies, she worked with CFL teams, including the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the defunct Ottawa Renegades. Besides CFL teams, she worked with the Ottawa Senators in the NHL, TSN, and Carleton University. Currently, she also sits as a member of the Football Canada Board as well as an executive for Football Saskatchewan and is the U Sports liaison for Canada West.
