Brawl breaks out in handshake line between Incarnate Word, Texas A&M-Commerce

Texas A&M-Commerce’s 76-72 overtime win over Incarnate Word was marred in the postgame handshake line when a brawl broke out between the two teams toward the end of the line.

The video of the fight, available to view below, was caught on the ESPN+ cameras in the broadcast’s final moments and remained on for the duration of the incident. The camera did not pick up the initial cause of the fight, but something seemed off when personnel from both teams were seen running despite the game being over.

What happened next appeared to see players from both sides throw punches at one another. The brawl ensued for less than two minutes but was long enough to cause a massive scene inside the Alice P. McDermott Convocation Center.

Here is full video of the WILD brawl between Incarnate Word and Texas A&M-Commerce tonight pic.twitter.com/Xe6VpQGcgu

— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) February 20, 2024

Many have voiced their opinions on postgame handshake lines in recent years. In 2022, Michigan coach Juwan Howard was suspended from the Wolverines’ sidelines for striking a Wisconsin assistant during their handshake line. After that, some analysts believed that it would be best to just do away with the postgame tradition altogether while others argued for sportsmanship’s sake. He was subsequently fined $40,000 for his postgame altercation.

Still, once he returned from his five-game suspension, Howard revealed his own opinion on handshake lines.

“I actually, I like it,” Howard stated in March of 2022. “It’s also a great example for sportsmanship in sports and I think we should keep it.”

Regardless of where you fall on that spectrum, this brawl could have been avoided if both teams simply went to their respective locker rooms when the final buzzer sounded. In an overtime game no less, emotions are sure to be high as both teams, and both squads sit within the bottom three in the Southland Conference. There’s no excuse for this kind of behavior, but every game is a must-win at this point in the season.

Punishments are likely to be handed down to both teams by the Southland Conference in the coming days.

These two teams previously played each other on Jan. 31, which saw Texas A&M-Commerce emerge victorious, and they have no swept the season series. Two of their four wins in Southland Conference play has come against Incarnate Word.

Incarnate Word moves on to face the conference’s top dog in McNeese State (23-3, 12-1 SC), while Texas A&M-Commernce will play Nicholls. Both games are slated for Saturday, Feb. 24.