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.

A Boise State Sports Information Director Max Corbet told CBS 2 today that the pre-game handshake had been on their radar for a while and that it was planned for the September 3 opener with Oregon.

The potential for already-elevated emotions to boil over certainly exists, and will certainly be watched closely to keep any altercations from occuring.

Grant Teaff, executive director of the AFCA, says college football players and teams are in a pressure-packed environment and that encouraging respect and sportsmanship is important.

"It doesn't matter one way or the other," said BSU quarterback Michael Coughlin. "If you don't like a certain team, you don't like them. I don't think going up and shaking hands is going to change that."

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.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.