NATIONAL HARBOR, Maryland – The NCAA Committee on Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct announced an Association-wide sportsmanship effort that will address negative fan behavior at sporting events around the nation.

The initiative called “RESPECT” was announced Wednesday at an Association-wide education session during the NCAA Convention.

A recent survey of student-athletes, coaches, conference commissioners, administrators and fans indicated that fan behavior was the most pressing matter to be addressed at college sporting events.

The RESPECT campaign attempts to address the issue through education, communication and enforcement when problems arise.

“It has to be more than simply saying you are committed to it,” said Metropolitan State President Stephen Jordan, chair of the Division II Presidents Council. “We have to put words to action. That’s what it will require on the part of presidents. It is setting expectations.”

Recently, every president at NCAA Division II institutions pledged support for creating positive, family-friendly environments at sporting events.

Committee members believe the conduct of student-athletes and coaches can go a long way in rectifying the problem.

“This is where a strong and seasoned athletics director can help,” Jordan said. “To me, that gets to a mentoring question of an athletics director helping a coach understand what we are trying to do and what we collectively believe in.”

Game environment is a double-edged  issue, Jordan said. Home teams like having the crowd whip up a frenzied atmosphere, but at the same time, no one wants to face that abusive behavior when it is time to go on the road.

“Everyone wants what is fair,” Jordan said. “Every coach needs professional development on coaching strategy, but they also need development on other elements that involve their coaching.”

Schools in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, including Metro State, have agreed on a set of values regarding acceptable conduct during sporting events.

“All the presidents spent several hours talking about what it meant to us and then directed our athletics directors to come up with a shared slate of expectations,” Jordan said. “If a problem occurs, we should be able to call each other and talk about it.”

Jordan said success in this initiative will be achieved only when athletics administrators truly consider sportsmanship as one of the top priorities for conferences and institutions.