Eleven LSU football players will be expanding their horizons through a program that will send them abroad. The players will be traveling to Senegal, West Africa for 8 days.

LSU athletics, International Programs, and the Center for Community Engagement, Learning and Leadership joined together to create a study abroad program for the athletes. The main purpose of the program is for the student athletes to “implement global and in-state service-learning elements in their coursework.” The program will also “introduce LSU student-athletes to Senegal’s rich culture and its strong ties to Louisiana.”

For LSU football coach Brian Kelly, the program also serves a purpose outside of football. According to the head coach, the program allow players to develop off the field, which is a big goal for his program, he said in a statement.

“One of the things that I have tried to do since coming to LSU is to not only set the standards and the process of building a program that graduates champions, but to help our players establish an identity outside of football. I want our players to have the opportunity to see things from a different perspective and to really take ownership in their studies and to understand that there’s much more out there than just being a football player. The opportunities of being an LSU football player go far beyond the field so I want to use the study abroad program to help them understand that.”