GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
PRINCETON, NJ -- Two weeks ago, 65 teams had a dream. Now, the
dreamers are down to just four -- the Final Four. This weekend's
NCAA men's basketball championship in Minneapolis is one of the
most anticipated sporting events of the year, and millions will be
watching as Duke, Arizona, Maryland and Michigan State square off
for bragging rights in the world of men's college basketball.
A new Gallup poll conducted March 26-28 finds nearly half of
Americans (47%) consider themselves college basketball fans. While
that percentage is smaller than the fan base for pro football
(63%), pro baseball (56%), college football (53%) and figure
skating (50%), it is larger than the fan base for pro basketball,
auto racing, golf, hockey and tennis.
In addition, the Final Four is one of the three major sporting
events sports fans would most like to see in person. A January
Gallup poll found that 13% of sports fans picked the Final Four
when asked about the major sporting event to which they would most
like to get a ticket. This puts the NCAA men's championship behind
only the Super Bowl (40%) and the World Series (18%) as events fans
would most want to attend.
Americans Oppose Pay for College Athletes
Observers say one of the reasons for the intense interest in
college athletics is the amateur status of the athletes. Instead of
playing for pay, college athletes play for the pride of their
schools and enjoyment of the sport. However, some believe college
athletes should be paid, because college sports generate tremendous
amounts of revenue for the schools. Several proposals for paying
college athletes have been advanced in the past, but the American
public is strongly opposed to the idea. A Gallup poll conducted
March 9-11 finds three out of four Americans would oppose paying
athletes anything in addition to the scholarships most of them
currently receive, while only 21% would favor this. In addition,
77% would be opposed to possible athlete protests that involve a
boycott of the NCAA basketball tournament to draw attention to the
issue of paying college athletes.
Survey Methods
The results below are based on telephone interviews with a
randomly selected national sample of 1,024 adults, 18 years and
older, conducted March 26-28, 2001. For results based on this
sample, one can say with 95 percent confidence that the maximum
error attributable to sampling and other random effects is plus or
minus 3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question
wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can
introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion
polls.
For each of the following, please say whether you are a fan
of that sport or not. First -- [RANDOM ORDER]?
|
2001 Mar 26-28
(sorted by "total fans")
|
Yes, a fan
|
SOMEWHAT
OF A FAN (vol.)
|
Total fans
|
|
%
|
%
|
%
|
|
|
|
|
|
Professional football
|
54
|
9
|
63
|
|
Professional baseball
|
46
|
10
|
56
|
|
College football
|
44
|
9
|
53
|
|
Figure skating
|
40
|
10
|
50
|
|
College basketball
|
38
|
9
|
47
|
|
Professional basketball
|
36
|
8
|
44
|
|
Auto racing
|
31
|
8
|
39
|
|
Professional golf
|
27
|
9
|
36
|
|
Professional ice hockey
|
24
|
7
|
31
|
|
Professional tennis
|
19
|
9
|
28
|
|
Professional wrestling
|
12
|
3
|
15
|
|
|
|
|
|
(vol.) Volunteered response
|
SPORTS FAN TRENDS
A. Professional baseball
| |
Yes, a fan
|
SOMEWHAT
OF A FAN (vol.)
|
No, not a fan
|
No opinion
|
| |
%
|
%
|
%
|
%
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
2001 Mar 26-28
|
46
|
10
|
44
|
*
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
2000 May 5-7
|
35
|
11
|
54
|
--
|
|
2000 Apr 28-30
|
40
|
12
|
48
|
--
|
|
2000 Mar 30-Apr 2
|
45
|
10
|
45
|
--
|
|
1999 Nov 18-21
|
45
|
16
|
39
|
--
|
|
1999 Oct 21-24
|
37
|
10
|
53
|
--
|
|
1999 Jul 13-14
|
40
|
19
|
41
|
--
|
|
1999 Mar 19-21
|
34
|
15
|
51
|
--
|
|
1998 Oct 9-12
|
47
|
14
|
39
|
--
|
|
1998 Sep 14-15
|
45
|
18
|
37
|
--
|
|
1998 Jun 22-23
|
34
|
10
|
56
|
--
|
|
1996 Mar 15-17
|
38
|
10
|
52
|
--
|
|
1995 Oct 5-7
|
34
|
8
|
58
|
--
|
|
1995 Jul 7-9
|
35
|
13
|
52
|
--
|
|
1995 May 11-14
|
35
|
10
|
55
|
--
|
|
1995 Apr 17-19
|
32
|
9
|
59
|
--
|
|
1995 Feb 24-26
|
37
|
12
|
51
|
--
|
|
1995 Jan 16-18
|
37
|
8
|
55
|
--
|
|
1994 Oct 17-19
|
39
|
9
|
52
|
--
|
|
1994 Sep 6-7
|
35
|
11
|
54
|
--
|
|
1994 Aug 15-16
|
39
|
10
|
51
|
--
|
|
1994 Aug 8-9
|
35
|
20
|
45
|
--
|
|
1993 May 21-23
|
39
|
10
|
51
|
--
|
|
1993 Feb 12-14
|
44
|
7
|
49
|
--
|
B. Professional football
|
Yes, a fan
|
SOMEWHAT
OF A FAN (vol.)
|
No, not a fan
|
No opinion
|
|
%
|
%
|
%
|
%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2001 Mar 26-28
|
54
|
9
|
37
|
*
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2001 Mar 9-11
|
48
|
14
|
38
|
*
|
|
2001 Jan 15-16
|
44
|
14
|
42
|
*
|
|
2000 Aug 24-27
|
42
|
12
|
46
|
*
|
|
1999 Mar 5-7
|
47
|
9
|
44
|
0
|
|
1999 Jan 22-24
|
51
|
10
|
39
|
*
|
|
1998 Jan 16-18
|
45
|
11
|
43
|
1
|
C. Professional basketball
| |
Yes, a fan
|
SOMEWHAT
OF A FAN (vol.)
|
No, not a fan
|
No opinion
|
| |
%
|
%
|
%
|
%
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
2001 Mar 26-28
|
36
|
8
|
55
|
1
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
2000 Mar 30-Apr 2
|
38
|
8
|
54
|
--
|
|
1999 Jan 15-17
|
31
|
11
|
58
|
--
|
|
1999 Jan 6
|
29
|
12
|
59
|
--
|
|
1998 Oct 9-12
|
36
|
10
|
54
|
--
|
|
1994 Mar 11-13
|
32
|
11
|
57
|
--
|
D. Professional ice hockey
|
Yes, a fan
|
SOMEWHAT
OF A FAN (vol.)
|
No, not a fan
|
No opinion
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2001 Mar 26-28
|
24%
|
7
|
69
|
*
|
E. College football^†
|
Yes, a fan
|
SOMEWHAT
OF A FAN (vol.)
|
No, not a fan
|
No opinion
|
|
%
|
%
|
%
|
%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2001 Mar 26-28
|
44
|
9
|
46
|
1
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2000 Nov 13-15
|
41
|
6
|
53
|
*
|
|
2000 Aug 24-27
|
32
|
10
|
58
|
*
|
|
1999 Oct 21-24
|
36
|
10
|
54
|
*
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
^ Asked Jan 6-8, 1994: "Are you a college football fan, or not?"
Yes = 48%; No = 52%
|
|
† Asked Dec 4-6, 1993: "Are you a college football fan, or
not?" Yes = 43%; No = 57%
|
F. College basketball
|
Yes, a fan
|
SOMEWHAT
OF A FAN (vol.)
|
No, not a fan
|
No opinion
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2001 Mar 26-28
|
38%
|
9
|
52
|
1
|
G. Professional golf
|
Yes, a fan
|
SOMEWHAT
OF A FAN (vol.)
|
No, not a fan
|
No opinion
|
| |
%
|
%
|
%
|
%
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
2001 Mar 26-28
|
27
|
9
|
64
|
*
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
2001 Feb 9-11
|
26
|
5
|
69
|
*
|
|
2000 Mar 30-Apr 2
|
26
|
8
|
66
|
*
|
H. Professional tennis
|
Yes, a fan
|
SOMEWHAT
OF A FAN (vol.)
|
No, not a fan
|
No opinion
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2001 Mar 26-28
|
19%
|
9
|
71
|
1
|
I. Auto racing
|
Yes, a fan
|
SOMEWHAT
OF A FAN (vol.)
|
No, not a fan
|
No opinion
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2001 Mar 26-28
|
31%
|
8
|
61
|
*
|
J. Figure skating
|
Yes, a fan
|
SOMEWHAT
OF A FAN (vol.)
|
No, not a fan
|
No opinion
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2001 Mar 26-28
|
40%
|
10
|
50
|
*
|
K. Professional wrestling
|
Yes, a fan
|
SOMEWHAT
OF A FAN (vol.)
|
No, not a fan
|
No opinion
|
| |
%
|
%
|
%
|
%
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
2001 Mar 26-28
|
12
|
3
|
85
|
*
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
1999 Aug 16-18 ^
|
12
|
6
|
82
|
*
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
^
|
WORDING: Now thinking about World Championship Wrestling, the
World Wrestling Federation and other professional wrestling that
you may see on TV, are you a fan of professional wrestling, or
not?
|
(vol.) Volunteered response
* Less than 0.5%
