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Utah's Mark Harlan and BYU's Tom Holmoe join forces to encourage respect, sportsmanship for rivalry game

SALT LAKE CITY — While public discourse seems to be more toxic than ever, the Utah-BYU rivalry is becoming increasingly civil.

For college football fans, this is as much about Saturday’s 99th meeting of Utah and BYU as it is about family dinners on Thanksgiving Day.

And in an unprecedented move, the athletic directors from both schools sent an email to fans asking them to enjoy the rivalry game, but to do so with respect for each other. It was the sports equivalent of starting the annual family gathering with a lecture from both patriarchs.