Dick Vitale calls for an end to handshake lines in college basketball

Tempers flared during BYU‘s 96-95 victory over Arizona on Saturday night, and after an emotional finish both programs had to be seperated during the postgame handshake line.

Following the incident, longtime ESPN and college basketball commentator Dick Vitale controversially called for an end to handshake lines in the sport after an intense finish in the Big 12.

“Tempers have flared after emotional battles at the shake the hand line . Y take a chance of a major brawl – have the handshakes before the game or do what the [NBA] does just find who u desire to greet after the game,” Vitale wrote in a tweet.

Emotions were high all night, but when the final sequence it was BYU who held strong to upset the Wildcats on their home floor. The fans were upset in particular about a foul call on Arizona’s Trey Townsend, which led to a pair of eventual game-winning free throws by BYU’s Richie Saunders with 3.2 seconds left in regulation.

Occuring in the final moments of the game, the handshake line was going to be tense. Both programs instead headed to their respective locker rooms instead of exchanging in the sportsmanlike tradition.

It’s not the first time that Arizona had been involved in a tense postgame moment this season. Earlier this month, multiple players were ejected in the final minutes of Arizona’s game vs. Arizona State on Feb 1. Tension boiled over the rest of the way, and the Sun Devils left the court early.

Arizona State head coach Bobby Hurley appeared to refuse to shake hands with Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd after the game. This happened as both BJ Freeman and Caleb Love were ejected for a headbutt late in the second half, occuring with 30 seconds left in the rivalry matchup.

After the game, Hurley explained why he pulled the players off the bench early. He cited “constant chatter” from Arizona, and he was hoping to avoid escalating things in the handshake line.

Whether Vitale’s adivce to shift college basketball’s postgame model to have a more NBA-like feel is given the time of day remains to be seen, but moments such as this continue to happen each season that handshake lines continue.

Of course, hundreds of postgame handshake are completed successfully and without issue throughout the country. But for now, eliminating the postgame handshake line involving the two participating teams in college basketball remains a controversial option.