National Poll Shows 68 Percent Of Fans Support Football Postponement Decision By Big Ten & Pac 12
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- A national polling service has concluded a majority of college football fans were in favor of the fall sports postponement decisions by the Big Ten Conference and Pac 12-Conference.
In its first national poll, Morning Consult conducted a survey of 1,107 college football fans from Aug. 21-23 and its findings show nearly 70 percent of the people surveyed at least somewhat agreed with both Power 5 Conference administrations to not play football in this 2020 fall academic season.
Graphic by Morning Consult
According to the poll, 68 percent of people who self-described themselves as college football fans supported the cautious approach, including 40 percent of those surveyed who said they backed it “strongly.” Support from fans of member schools was even more robust, with 75 percent of Pac-12 fans and 71 percent of fans from Big Ten schools claimed their conferences made the right call to not play football this fall during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Atlantic Coast Conference, Big 12 Conference, Southeastern Conference, American Athletic Conference, Sun Belt Conference and Conference USA are still planning to play football this fall during the current COVID-19 pandemic. The Big 10 and Pac-12 are joined by the Mountain West, Mid-American Conference and all non-FBS leagues, to sit out football this fall.
The data was produced does carry a margin of error of three percentage points. The survey also included 407-576 fans from each conference, with margins of error ranging from four to five points.
While using the same 1,107 people surveyed, Morning Consult also concluded in a separate polling question that only 23 percent of college football fans believe there should be a College Football Playoff conducted without two of the Power 5 Conference involved in a fall season.
Graphic by Morning Consult
Morning Consult is a global, privately held data intelligence company established in 2014. The company's first official poll was looking at whether young and uninsured Americans were going to sign up for the Affordable Care Act's insurance exchanges, published just before the exchanges went live in 2013. The White House, led by press secretary Jay Carney, used that polling in its press briefing later that day.
The sample of people surveyed by Morning Consult is larger than the number of registered voters typically used for a national presidential poll done by NBC/Wall Street Journal, CBS/You Gov, CNN, ABC/Washington Post and Fox News.
Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren has received a robust amount of loud criticism following his announcement of the decision made by the league’s Council of Presidents and Chancellors on Aug. 11.
A group calling itself “Big Ten Parents United” published on social media a letter written to Warren regarding saying they’re "extremely disappointed" in what they consider to be the lack of transparency in the process including the open letter Warren sent out on Aug. 19 to explain the rationale, details and safety concerns that led to the league’s decision to postpone fall sports.
“This correspondence is intended to convey the total lack of confidence in the Big Ten Conference's leadership, specifically the lack of planning, collaboration and/or communication,” the letter reads. “We completely understand that this pandemic is unprecedented and requires careful consideration. That said, it is extremely frustrating that the Big Ten has failed to properly communicate in a transparent manner. Our intention, at this point, is to provide a pathway forward to a successful 2020 Big Ten football season.”
The estimation of various news organizations on site last weekend had the crowd size of the protest outside the conference office in Rosemont, Ill., organized by Randy Wade, father of Ohio State defensive back and All-Big Ten selection Shaun Wade, to be about 25 to 35 people. Wade says he is planning another protest, which he obviously expects a better turnout, for this Saturday outside the rotunda at Ohio Stadium.