Comfort in Attending Games Ticks Upward; Number Who Say They Are Doing Brackets Doubles
South Orange NJ, March 18, 2021 – The start of the NCAA “March Madness” basketball tournament finds 59 percent of Americans stating that it is indeed fair for student athletes to comply with the “isolation bubble” requirement in order to play.
Of “sports fans,” that number goes to 69 percent, and of “avid fans,” 80 percent. Forty-eight percent of those who call themselves “non-fans” still think it is fair.
Sports Has Positive Effect on Mental Health Over Past Year
Perhaps to some extent that view has been tempered by a sense of need. The Poll found that sports on TV – even without fans – has had a positive effect on the American psyche over the course of the last year. Thirty-nine percent of the general population – self-described fans and non-fans alike – say that sports on TV has had a positive effect on the mental health of most Americans, while 33 percent cite sports as being beneficial to their own mental health.
Those numbers rise, understandably, amongst sports fans. Seventy-three percent of avid fans believe that sports on TV has aided in bolstering the country’s mental health during the pandemic, with 60 percent saying it has helped their own. Among sports fans in general, 47 percent believe it has helped the nation, while more than half – 51 percent – say it has helped them personally.
“The pandemic has taken its toll on all of us,” said Professor Juan Rios, a licensed clinical social worker and director of the graduate Master of Social Work program at Seton Hall University. “Sports has offered us a much needed outlet from social isolation and has functioned in some ways as a coping mechanism, providing an extension of community through collective spectatorship and camaraderie. Sports on TV has provided us with a feeling of at least some level of normalcy in an otherwise abnormal time.”
These were the findings of a Seton Hall Sports Poll conducted among 1,538 adults geographically spread across the country March 13-15, with a margin of error of +/-3.2 percent.
Sporting Event Attendance, Indoors Ticking Upward
Sports on TV is one thing, but attending events – even with a vaccine – is still apparently another. The Seton Hall Sports Poll has been tracking people’s willingness to attend indoor and outdoor events throughout the pandemic, and the shift in attitudes, while dramatic between November and January, has been fairly consistent from January till now. Asked how they would feel about attending an indoor event if vaccinated, 35 percent of the general population said yes, up just three percent since March. Among sports fans, 49 percent said yes to indoor events, up three percent from March, and 16 percent of non fans said yes, up from 14 percent in January. However, this is a far cry from the results at the beginning of the pandemic. At the beginning of April 2020, 72 percent told the Seton Hall Sports Poll they would not at all attend a sports event before a vaccine was developed.
Sporting Event Attendance, Outdoors also Ticking Upward
With baseball season just two weeks away, respondents were also asked about attending outdoor events if vaccinated, and 43 percent of the general population said yes, a number which rose to 61 percent among sports fans and 75 percent among avid fans. Like indoor events, those numbers were up between 2-4 percentage points since the question was asked in January, 2021.
Opt Out?
Given the vagaries and mixed feelings of many regarding indoor sporting event attendance, the public was asked whether they thought there should be negative consequences for student-athletes who choose to not play in that environment. Asked whether a player should be able to choose to “opt-out” of the NCAA basketball tournament without impacting their scholarship, 61 percent of the population said yes, with 68 percent of sports fans, 77 percent of avid fans and 52 percent of non-fans agreeing.
Covid Liability Waiver Equals Employee?
Forty-three percent of the general population felt that having to sign a Coronavirus (COVID-19) liability waiver, as many student athletes have had to in order to play their sport on campus, was sufficient indicia of employment such that the student-athletes should be compensated beyond their scholarships. Among sports fans, that number rose to more than half at 51 percent, and to 65 percent, nearly two-thirds, for avid fans. Interestingly enough, even among non-fans nearly one third, 32 percent, thought the signing of a coronavirus liability waiver should entitle the student-athletes to compensation.
“Whether we’re talking about their contribution to the nation’s mental health, or having to sign covid liability waivers like so many other employees across the country, it seems clear that student-athletes are considered essential and considered to be workers,” said Professor Charles Grantham, Director of the Center for Sport Management within the Stillman School of Business, which oversees the Seton Hall Sports Poll. “And if they’re considered essential workers, they should be compensated as such.”
People in Pools or Brackets Has Doubled Since Pre-Pandemic
Fifty-six percent of avid fans will be filling out a bracket for the tournament or have already, but that number drops to 30 percent for “sports fans,” 18 percent of the general population and not surprisingly, just 3 percent of non-fans. When this question was asked pre-pandemic (March 2019), only nine percent of the general population said they would be participating in pools involving money.
Should You Be Able to Wager on March Madness?
Asked if sports betting should be allowed on any NCAA tournaments featuring student athletes, 62 percent of avid fans registered a yes, and 45 percent of sports fans agreed. Only 33 percent of the general population said yes, although 36 percent said no, and 31 percent did not know or had no opinion.
“This year’s doubling to 18 percent is a number worth watching, said Marketing Professor and Poll Methodologist Daniel Ladik. “We’ve seen other sports betting numbers trend upwards this year, and one wonders how much the wider availability of legal sports betting and the ubiquitous advertising that accompanies it is contributing to this trend.”
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Results and charted breakdowns of questions by fan-type below; an online version of this release may be found at http://blogs.shu.edu/sportspoll/
ABOUT THE POLL
The Seton Hall Sports Poll, conducted regularly since 2006, is performed by the Sharkey Institute within the Stillman School of Business. This poll was conducted online by YouGov Plc. using a national representative sample weighted according to gender, age, ethnicity, education, income and geography, based on U.S. Census Bureau figures. Respondents were selected from YouGov’s opt-in panel to be representative of all U.S residents. This poll release conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls. The Seton Hall Sports Poll has been chosen for inclusion in iPoll by Cornell’s Roper Center for Public Opinion Research and its findings have been published everywhere from USA Today, ESPN, The New York Times, Washington Post, AP, and Reuters to CNBC, NPR, Yahoo Finance, Fox News and many points in between.
Media: Michael Ricciardelli, Associate Director of Media Relations, Seton Hall University
michael.ricciardelli@shu.edu, 908-447-3034; Marty Appel, AppelPR@gmail.com
March 2021 Seton Hall Sports Poll Results
This SHSP was conducted March 13th though March 15th and includes responses from 1,538 US adults with a margin of error of 3.2%. The sample mirrors the US Census percentages on age, gender, income, education, ethnicity, and region.
Q1. Which, if any, of the following statements best describes you?
- I am an avid sports fan 16%
- I am a sports fan 41%
- I am nota sports fan 43%
Q3a – If you were to receive the Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine, would you attend…A live outdoor sporting event in-person, with personal protection equipment (PPE), socially distancing measures, and restricted attendance?
| N=1,538
|
General
Population |
Sports
Fan |
Non Fan | Avid
Fan |
Casual
Fan |
| Yes, I would attend | 43% | 61% | 20% | 75% | 55% |
| No, I would not attend | 40% | 27% | 56% | 16% | 32% |
| Don’t know/No opinion | 17% | 12% | 24% | 9% | 13% |
|
|
General
Population |
Sports
Fan |
Non Fan | ||||||
| Nov
2020 |
Jan
2021 |
Mar
2021 |
Nov
2020 |
Jan 2021 | Mar 2021 | Nov 2020 | Jan 2021 | Mar
2021 |
|
| Yes | 28% | 40% | 43% | 39% | 57% | 61% | 8% | 18% | 20% |
| No | 58% | 41% | 40% | 50% | 29% | 27% | 73% | 57% | 56% |
| No opinion | 14% | 19% | 17% | 11% | 14% | 12% | 19% | 45% | 24% |
Q3b – If you were to receive the Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine, would you attend…A live indoor sporting event in-person, with personal protection equipment (PPE), socially distancing measures, and restricted attendance?
| N=1,538
|
General
Population |
Sports
Fan |
Non Fan | Avid
Fan |
Casual
Fan |
| Yes, I would attend | 35% | 49% | 16% | 59% | 46% |
| No, I would not attend | 47% | 37% | 61% | 29% | 39% |
| Don’t know/No opinion | 18% | 14% | 23% | 12% | 15% |
|
|
General
Population |
Sports
Fan |
Non Fan | ||||||
| Nov
2020 |
Jan
2021 |
Mar
2021 |
Nov
2020 |
Jan 2021 | Mar 2021 | Nov 2020 | Jan 2021 | Mar
2021 |
|
| Yes | 21% | 32% | 35% | 29% | 46% | 49% | 8% | 14% | 16% |
| No | 67% | 44% | 47% | 60% | 38% | 37% | 79% | 63% | 61% |
| No opinion | 12% | 19% | 18% | 11% | 16% | 14% | 13% | 23% | 23% |
Since the initial Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak (i.e., since March 2020), do you feel that watching sports on TV has had a positive impact on:
Q4a. The mental health of most Americans?
| N=1,538
|
General
Population |
Sports
Fan |
Non Fan | Avid
Fan |
Casual
Fan |
| Yes, it has | 39% | 47% | 19% | 73% | 47% |
| No, it has not | 25% | 26% | 27% | 14% | 26% |
| Don’t know/No opinion | 36% | 27% | 53% | 13% | 27% |
Q4b. Your personal mental health?
| N=1,538
|
General
Population |
Sports
Fan |
Non Fan | Avid
Fan |
Casual
Fan |
| Yes, it has | 33% | 51% | 8% | 69% | 45% |
| No, it has not | 42% | 33% | 55% | 23% | 37% |
| Don’t know/No opinion | 25% | 16% | 37% | 8% | 18% |
Q5a. Do you think it is fair to for student athletes to comply with the ‘isolation bubble’ requirement in order to play in games/tournaments, etc.?
| N=1,538
|
General
Population |
Sports
Fan |
Non Fan | Avid
Fan |
Casual
Fan |
| Yes | 59% | 69% | 48% | 80% | 64% |
| No | 21% | 20% | 22% | 14% | 22% |
| Don’t know/No opinion | 20% | 11% | 30% | 6% | 14% |
Q5b. Should a player be able to opt-out of the NCAA tournament without impacting their scholarship?
| N=1,538
|
General
Population |
Sports
Fan |
Non Fan | Avid
Fan |
Casual
Fan |
| Yes | 61% | 68% | 52% | 77% | 65% |
| No | 19% | 19% | 18% | 14% | 21% |
| Don’t know/No opinion | 20% | 13% | 30% | 9% | 14% |
Q5c. If like employees, student athletes are required to sign Coronavirus (COVID-19) liability waivers, should they be compensated beyond their scholarship?
| N=1,538
|
General
Population |
Sports
Fan |
Non Fan | Avid
Fan |
Casual
Fan |
| Yes | 43% | 51% | 32% | 65% | 45% |
| No | 29% | 29% | 29% | 22% | 32% |
| Don’t know/No opinion | 28% | 20% | 39% | 13% | 23% |
Q7. Thinking about the upcoming NCAA Basketball Tournament (i.e., mid-March 2021), will you be filling out a bracket?
| N=1,538
|
General
Population |
Sports
Fan |
Non Fan | Avid
Fan |
Casual
Fan |
| Yes, I will | 18% | 30% | 3% | 56% | 20% |
| No, I will not | 67% | 58% | 78% | 34% | 67% |
| Don’t know/No opinion | 15% | 12% | 19% | 10% | 13% |
Q8. College athletes have ‘amateur,’ not ‘professional status’ according to the rules of the NCAA. Should sports betting be allowed on any NCAA tournaments featuring student athletes (e.g., March Madness, etc)?
| N=1,538
|
General
Population |
Sports
Fan |
Non Fan | Avid
Fan |
Casual
Fan |
| Yes, it should be allowed | 33% | 45% | 18% | 62% | 38% |
| No, it should not be allowed | 36% | 34% | 38% | 25% | 38% |
| Don’t know/No opinion | 31% | 21% | 44% | 13% | 24% |
Within the rules of the NCAA (the National Collegiate Athletic Association), college athletes that represent their college/university have ‘amateur status’. ‘Amateur status’ college athletes are only compensated through their academic scholarships and college/university attendance stipend, and cannot receive any additional payment for participation in games, tournaments, nor any form of off-campus monetization (i.e., through the use of an athlete’s name, image, or likeness on sports media). Student athletes must also maintain their position on their college/university’s team to be able to receive compensation.
Last year the NCAA Tournament was canceled due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19). For the 2021 season, the teams selected to play must enter an “isolation bubble” in the city of Indianapolis in order to play. It was recently announced that approximately 3,000 fans will be allowed to attend the games at the indoor NCAA arenas.
Like numerous employees across America, many student athletes were required by their universities to sign Coronavirus (COVID-19) liability waivers in order to play their sport on campus. At the same time, regular students, including those with academic scholarships, were not required to sign waivers to take classes.
The following questions will ask about your opinions on the relationship between student athletes and the rules of the NCAA.
Q5a. Do you think it is fair to for student athletes to comply with the ‘isolation bubble’ requirement in order to play in games/tournaments, etc.?
| N=1,538
|
General
Population |
Sports
Fan |
Non Fan | Avid
Fan |
Casual
Fan |
| Yes | 59% | 69% | 48% | 80% | 64% |
| No | 21% | 20% | 22% | 14% | 22% |
| Don’t know/No opinion | 20% | 11% | 30% | 6% | 14% |
Q5b. Should a player be able to opt-out of the NCAA tournament without impacting their scholarship?
| N=1,538
|
General
Population |
Sports
Fan |
Non Fan | Avid
Fan |
Casual
Fan |
| Yes, it has | 61% | 68% | 52% | 77% | 65% |
| No, it has not | 19% | 19% | 18% | 14% | 21% |
| Don’t know/No opinion | 20% | 13% | 30% | 9% | 14% |
Q5c. If like employees, student athletes are required to sign Coronavirus (COVID-19) liability waivers, should they be compensated beyond their scholarship?
| N=1,538
|
General
Population |
Sports
Fan |
Non Fan | Avid
Fan |
Casual
Fan |
| Yes, it has | 43% | 51% | 32% | 65% | 45% |
| No, it has not | 29% | 29% | 29% | 22% | 32% |
| Don’t know/No opinion | 28% | 20% | 39% | 13% | 23% |
Q5d. Do you think student athletes should be allowed to profit from the use of their name, image, or likeness?
| N=1,538
|
General
Population |
Sports
Fan |
Non Fan | Avid
Fan |
Casual
Fan |
| Yes, it has | 56% | 64% | 46% | 74% | 60% |
| No, it has not | 25% | 26% | 25% | 16% | 30% |
| Don’t know/No opinion | 19% | 10% | 29% | 10% | 10% |
Q5e. Do you think student athletes should be financially compensated, in addition to a scholarship and cost of attendance stipend, for participating in revenue producing sports, such as basketball and football?
| N=1,538
|
General
Population |
Sports
Fan |
Non Fan | Avid
Fan |
Casual
Fan |
| Yes, it has | 49% | 58% | 37% | 68% | 53% |
| No, it has not | 31% | 31% | 33% | 26% | 33% |
| Don’t know/No opinion | 20% | 11% | 30% | 6% | 14% |
Q6. Who should decide if college athletes can profit from the use of their name, image, or likeness, a court of law, or the NCAA?
| N=1,538
|
General
Population |
Sports
Fan |
Non Fan | Avid
Fan |
Casual
Fan |
| A court of law should decide | 44% | 50% | 37% | 57% | 47% |
| The NCAA should decide | 25% | 31% | 19% | 29% | 31% |
| Don’t know/No opinion | 30% | 19% | 44% | 14% | 22% |
Q7. Thinking about the upcoming NCAA Basketball Tournament (i.e., mid-March 2021), will you be filling out a bracket?
| N=1,538
|
General
Population |
Sports
Fan |
Non Fan | Avid
Fan |
Casual
Fan |
| Yes, I will | 18% | 30% | 3% | 56% | 20% |
| No, I will not | 67% | 58% | 78% | 34% | 67% |
| Don’t know/No opinion | 15% | 12% | 19% | 10% | 13% |
Q8. College athletes have ‘amateur,’ not ‘professional status’ according to the rules of the NCAA. Should sports betting be allowed on any NCAA tournaments featuring student athletes (e.g., March Madness, etc)?
| N=1,538
|
General
Population |
Sports
Fan |
Non Fan | Avid
Fan |
Casual
Fan |
| Yes, it should be allowed | 33% | 45% | 18% | 62% | 38% |
| No, it should not be allowed | 36% | 34% | 38% | 25% | 38% |
| Don’t know/No opinion | 31% | 21% | 44% | 13% | 24% |
ABOUT SETON HALL UNIVERSITY
One of the country’s leading Catholic universities, Seton Hall has been showing the world what great minds can do since 1856. Home to nearly 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students and offering more than 90 rigorous academic programs, Seton Hall’s academic excellence has been singled out for distinction by The Princeton Review, U.S. News & World Report and Bloomberg Businessweek.
Seton Hall embraces students of all religions and prepares them to be exemplary servant leaders and global citizens. In recent years, the University has achieved extraordinary success. Since 2009, it has seen record-breaking undergraduate enrollment growth and an impressive 110-point increase in the average SAT scores of incoming freshmen. In the past decade, Seton Hall students and alumni have received more than 30 Fulbright Scholarships as well as other prestigious academic honors, including Boren Awards, Pickering Fellowships, Udall Scholarships and a Rhodes Scholarship. The University is also proud to be among the most diverse national Catholic universities in the country.
During the past five years, the University has invested more than $165 million in new campus buildings and renovations. And in 2015, Seton Hall launched a School of Medicine as well as a College of Communication and the Arts. The University’s beautiful main campus in suburban South Orange, N.J. is only 14 miles from New York City — offering students a wealth of employment, internship, cultural and entertainment opportunities. Seton Hall’s nationally recognized School of Law is located prominently in downtown Newark. The University’s Interprofessional Health Sciences (IHS) campus in Clifton and Nutley, N.J. opened in the summer of 2018. The IHS campus houses the University’s College of Nursing, School of Health and Medical Sciences and the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine at Seton Hall University.
For more information, visit www.shu.edu.