Sexton Hardcastle
Club Member
College football teams are planning to start the season off on a courteous note.
As part of a sportsmanship initiative, the American Football Coaches Association and NCAA are encouraging schools to arrange teamwide handshakes on the field before kickoff.
Grant Teaff, executive director of the AFCA and former Baylor coach, says college football players and teams are in a pressure-packed environment and that encouraging respect and sportsmanship is important.
"It is symbolic," Teaff told USA Today. "But it is, we think, a very important initiative."
Coaches are required to shake before and after games, but having players do it in an organized way is new. The handshake is only planned for the first week of games, and is not mandatory, though Teaff says all schools have been asked to participate.
"I'd be surprised if the high, high majority of our teams do not participate in this," Teaff said, according to USA Today.
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