Saskatchewan Roughriders' president Craig Reynolds appreciates the passion from Rider Nation.
"I would say that the great thing about Saskatchewan is that the expectations are always high -- no matter what," Reynolds told the SportsCage.
"You want to play in a place where they expect you to compete for the Grey Cup every single year. Last year, we finished in second, hosted a home playoff game, and competed in the West Final. Naturally, your expectation is we've got to get over that hump. The expectation is to compete and be in that Grey Cup game."
In 2024, under first-year head coach Corey Mace, the Riders finished with a 9-8-1 record, second place in the West Division. Saskatchewan beat the B.C. Lions in the West Semi-Final 28-19. The Green and White lost in the West Final 38-22 to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
Meanwhile, the Roughriders selected Indiana University quarterback Kurtis Rourke in the third round, 25th overall during the 2025 CFL Draft.
"People are excited and he's an outstanding quarterback, let alone a Canadian quarterback," Reynolds said. "That was very neat to be a fly on the wall in the draft room as they were doing that analysis and determining when the right time was to consider Kurtis. I think Jeremy [O'Day] said there's a risk with it, of course, but the reward could be huge. It's exciting that he could potentially be a Saskatchewan Roughrider at some point."
Reynolds enjoys the CFL Draft day experience and looks forward to it every year.
"I'm a bit of a draft junkie, I really love the draft. I love the opportunity it presents for the kids and the excitement around being there. I love asking the guys how the players we drafted reacted when they got that phone call," Reynolds explained.
"I can't tell you how much work they put into it, I take a look at all the prep they did on the players' side. I look at whether the team's needs are met and where they're likely to go. They start flipping to next year's draft class and our video guys do a great job, but the amount of man hours that goes into that is really impressive."
Seven Saskatchewan-born players were selected in the 2025 CFL Draft. That make Reynolds feel proud about football development in the province.
"The one thing I will say about football in Saskatchewan, we punch well above our weight. When you look at our per capita, our population -- that's the flag, that's tackle -- you always look at the Saskatchewan teams in the gold medal finals, whether we win the gold or finish second," Reynolds said.
"That translates to football culture and that support of football. Giving helmets is one way, supporting Football Sask is another way, supporting the Huskies, supporting the Rams, Thunder and Hilltops with dollars. It helps with scholarships, it helps give these kids a path to play football at the next level and then hopefully get that opportunity to be drafted by the Saskatchewan Roughriders or another team in the CFL."
Team Saskatchewan competes in the Football Canada Cup, an under-18 football tournament. Since 2010, Team Saskatchewan has been to the finals eight times and won the national championship five times.
