The Iowa Conference is promoting sportsmanship with a program that runs through the end of this month. Commissioner Chuck Yrigoyen says the program is funded by grant money from the N.C.A.A. and has included a number of activities at league basketball and wrestling events.
Yrigoyen says the message to fans, coaches and players is to have fun without going over the line. He says today’s young people are "under siege" with outrageous behavior with videos on-line, and he says it’s hard to come to a high intensity game and be under control. Yrigoyen encourages students to come to the games and stay under control.
Yrigoyen says he has met with student groups at some of the schools and says there is a fine line between having fun and being abusive. He says it’s one thing to wave your arms behind the basket for a foul shooter and another to make personal attacks on players.
Yrigoyen says the behavior he’s seen so far in the conference has been pretty good.