By: Kaja Antic, Sports Writer
On February 21, 2025, Canada Basketball announced its Hall of Fame Class of 2024, which includes former SFU and team Canada women’s basketball head coach Allison McNeill. McNeill became head coach for SFU’s women’s team in 1988 and helped lead the team to 11 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) championship tournament appearances.
“It feels quite huge, actually, something that you don’t set out for when you start coaching,” McNeill told The Peak. “You do it because you’re passionate about it. But with that said, when they recognize your work, you feel pretty good about it.”
From 1990–2000, the team won their conference championships (with the exception of 1995–96), reaching the NAIA Elite Eight five times, the Final Four three times, and the NAIA Championship Finals in 1999 and 2000.
“The first time we qualified for NAIA Nationals, we were the first [SFU] basketball team, men or women, to qualify for the national tournament,” McNeill recounted, also noting how the team had been greeted by a sold-out crowd. “And that night we qualified for the first time. And I just remember the players lifting me up on their shoulders and running me around the gym. And I thought, ‘Oh, it can’t get any better than this.’” She added, “I’m very proud of that because at that time, it wasn’t ‘everyone watches women’s sports.’ It wasn’t that. There wasn’t the marketing and the notoriety.”
McNeill worked on the recognition of women’s basketball in Canada not only from her time coaching at SFU, but also from her decade-long tenure as the coach of Canada’s women’s national team. She led the team to four bronze medals at International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Women’s AmeriCup competitions, along with reaching the quarterfinals at the 2012 Summer Olympics after the Canadian team had not reached the Olympic Games since 2000.
Named NAIA Coach of the Year for the 1991–92 season, when SFU went 16–0 in conference competition and 31–2 overall, McNeill held a 0.825 win percentage during her 13 seasons on Burnaby Mountain.
“I’m proud that we went through some time where women’s athletics was not really valued. I don’t think as much as certainly it is now — could probably be more — but it is now. And so I really had to fight for some things.
“And that night we qualified for the first time. And I just remember the players lifting me up on their shoulders and running me around the gym. And I thought, ‘Oh, it can’t get any better than this.’”
“One time, we contacted a shoe company, and they came back and said, ‘Well, we’ll sponsor the men.’ At that time, we actually had a better record, better graduating record, better wins-losses. And not that I was comparing, but it’s frustrating,” McNeill recounted a time during her coaching tenure at SFU trying to secure a gear sponsorship for the women’s basketball team, “They’ll sponsor the men fully and we’ll get the two-for-one while I was like, I’m not having it. No, I won’t take it.”
McNeill created a proposal and brought it to a Coquitlam Nike store, securing a sponsorship deal not only for shoes, but also bags and practice gear. “At that time, we were the only women’s team sponsored in Canada by Nike. I think it was a really pivotal moment for our team because it really helped a lot of [the players] out.” Nike has been a sponsor of SFU varsity basketball since.
McNeill has been a trailblazer for women’s basketball in Canada, which is now getting a professional team in the WNBA’s expansion side the Toronto Tempo, which begins play in 2026. “It’s like the Raptors. I mean, they’re our team, they’re Canada’s team,” she said. “I think the Tempo will be the same. They’ll be our team, the whole country’s team. I’m excited for that to happen.
“It’s been fun to be part of women’s sport for my entire life,” McNeill mentioned. “To see it go like this, I think we’re riding a wave, and it’s been well-earned.”
McNeill commented that what she was most proud of from her time at SFU was the athletes she coached. “We had just great people, and they’ve gone on to do great things.” As for advice for the current and future women’s Red Leafs, McNeill reminds these players to live in the moment.
“Be where your feet are. You don’t need to be thinking too far ahead or looking back,” she emphasized. “I think if you work hard and you’re passionate about something, opportunities can come your way, you could do something with them.”
