One of today's mantras for improving sportsmanship is simple: The more ideas, the better. And several state associations have responded to the rallying cry.

The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) voted this year to institute a rule requiring officials to be present during post-game handshakes for all team sports. MIAA Deputy Director William Gaine says the policy eased tensions following heated contests in ice hockey and soccer, where the rule has already been in place for years.

"After the final buzzer, the officials send the teams back to their benches and they have a short cooling-off period," Gaine says. "This changes the whole nature of the end of the game by giving the student-athletes a chance to calm down. The fans in the stands see that the handshake is happening in an organized manner and the strong role officials are playing to direct and observe the process."

The only problem with the rule so far has been getting basketball officials to embrace it. Some have expressed concerns for their post-game safety in light of the new rule and have met with the MIAA to work on a solution that satisfies both sides.

"In the past, our basketball officials have tended to leave the gym once the final buzzer sounds," Gaine says. "But that doesn't send a good message to the players and fans. It makes it look like they're running away. That's been the culture of basketball, and we want to change it."

In Minnesota, state officials took on an issue that has caused tension in basketball games for years--getting referees to consistently call close contact. A Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) committee formed to address issues facing basketball came up with the idea after seeing how inconsistencies in officiating can lead to poor sportsmanship by coaches and fans.

"We thought the best approach would be to come up with strict guidelines for what should be called a foul, rather than simply telling referees to 'call it tighter,'" says Kevin Merkle, MSHSL Associate Director in charge of basketball. "To train all of our officials, we created a video and took still pictures of what we were talking about. We made the materials available on our Web site so coaches could also pass the information along to their players."

Merkle says a perception that teams from the Twin Cities area play a more physical game than the rest of the state has caused problems in the past. "We got to the point where some officials were thinking, 'This is just how teams play in the metro area, and this is how they play in the smaller areas,'" he explains. "We want to do away with that misconception so when teams play opponents from different parts of the state, everyone knows that both teams are playing under the same rules and interpretations."

So far, the strategy seems to be working. "There is still quite a bit of work to do before everyone is on the same page, but our early reports show that hand-checking is down," Merkle says. "It's still difficult in the post, where many defenders are used to locking out their elbow on an offensive player to impede them. But I'm convinced that once everyone learns and adjusts to this new emphasis, games will be easier to call, better for players to compete in, and better for fans to watch."

The California Interscholastic Federation has told its member schools that booing should not be tolerated at games, and throughout the state athletic directors are working hard to follow through. For La Costa Canyon High School in Carlsbad, that means making sure the well-known cheering section at its girls' volleyball matches--the Noise Boyz--doesn't let its enthusiasm spill over into negativity. To do this, Athletic Director John Labeta forms a relationship with the senior leaders of the group, positions a member of the school's administration near them in the stands, and even travels to away games to keep an eye on them.

"The group's ring leaders change from year to year, so we meet them before the first game of the season to remind them about being positive," Labeta says. "Then, if anything inappropriate does happen during the match we talk to them right away. After the first few games, by the time we get to their section to talk to them, the group tells us, 'We've taken care of it and it won't happen again.'"

But when the students do cross a line and direct negative cheers toward opposing players, Labeta makes sure they are disciplined and that the opponent receives a swift apology. "We recently had to eject a fan from one of our matches for negative cheering, and before he left we made him apologize to the player it was directed toward," Labeta says.

At St. Augustine High School in San Diego, Athletic Director Mike Stephenson keeps a close eye on the Saints' cheering section, known as The Pit. Students who do step out of line there face punishments that escalate from ejections to suspension or banishment from future games for those who continue to break the rules, which Stephenson says sets a strong example for others.

"They know the punishments for being negative at games will escalate, they see that repeat offenders don't get to attend matches, and that sets a powerful example," Stephenson says. "Once they witness a classmate getting kicked out of a game and not allowed to return for two weeks, they understand how serious we are and don't want it to happen to them. We've found that when our students understand what the rules and expectations of them are, they'll follow them and it's a lot less for us to worry about."