March 25, 2011 - Ohio Voters Say Keep Coach Tressel, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds Word format Ohio voters like their college football and their coach as 66 percent say they are fans of Ohio State football and 56 percent say they have a favorable opinion of coach Jim Tressel, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll released today. Of the 76 percent of voters who have read or heard anything about Tressel's alleged misconduct, 83 percent say he should not be fired and 56 percent say his punishment is sufficient, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University poll finds. Another 30 percent of voters who know about the allegations say Tressel got off easy. "If Buckeye fans have anything to say about it, Jim Tressel has nothing to worry about. Perhaps losing to Michigan might hurt his popularity, but not the rules violations he has acknowledged," said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. There is virtually no gap in support for Tressel across political lines, but among male Buckeye fans he has a 69 percent favorability rating and among women 43 percent, while 38 percent of women don't know enough about him to form an opinion. There is only a small gender gap on the question of whether Tressel should be fired. From March 15 - 21, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,384 registered voters with a margin of error of +/- 2.6 percentage points. Live interviewers call land lines and cell phones. The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public opinion surveys in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio and the nation as a public service and for research. For more data or RSS feed- http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling.xml, call (203) 582-5201, or follow us on Twitter. 26. Do you consider yourself a fan of the Ohio State football team or not? WtBrnAgn Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl Yes 66% 71% 66% 63% 71% 62% 71% No 32 28 31 37 28 36 28 DK/NA 2 1 3 1 1 2 1 AGE IN YEARS............ 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Yes 65% 68% 69% 62% No 35 32 29 35 DK/NA - - 2 3 27. Is your opinion of Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel favorable, unfavorable, or haven't you heard enough about him? WtBrnAgn Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl Favorable 56% 58% 54% 55% 69% 43% 58% Unfavorable 13 15 9 16 12 14 12 Hvn't hrd enough 27 23 31 26 15 38 26 REFUSED 4 3 5 3 3 5 4 OH STATE FANS.... AGE IN YEARS............ Tot Men Wom 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Favorable 71% 82% 59% 53% 62% 59% 51% Unfavorable 8 6 10 14 10 13 15 Hvn't hrd enough 19 10 28 31 26 24 29 REFUSED 2 1 2 2 3 5 5 28. Have you heard or read anything about the allegations of misconduct by Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel? WtBrnAgn Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl Yes 76% 84% 75% 71% 84% 69% 81% No 23 16 24 28 16 30 19 DK/NA 1 - 1 1 1 1 - OH STATE FANS.... AGE IN YEARS............ Tot Men Wom 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Yes 80% 85% 76% 63% 77% 81% 78% No 19 15 24 37 23 17 20 DK/NA - - - - 1 1 2 29. (If heard or read Q28) Do you think that Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel's punishment was sufficient or do you think he got off easy? HEARD OR READ OF ALLEGATIONS Q28.................. WtBrnAgn Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl Sufficient 56% 52% 61% 56% 60% 52% 56% Got off easy 30 35 24 33 27 33 30 DK/NA 14 13 14 11 13 15 15 OH STATE FANS.... AGE IN YEARS............ Tot Men Wom 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Sufficient 66% 69% 63% 60% 57% 58% 51% Got off easy 23 19 27 31 28 30 30 DK/NA 11 12 10 9 15 11 19 30. (If heard or read Q28) Do you think Jim Tressel should be fired for his alleged misconduct, or not? HEARD OR READ OF ALLEGATIONS Q28.................. WtBrnAgn Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl Yes 10% 11% 8% 13% 8% 13% 11% No 83 83 84 82 89 77 85 DK/NA 6 6 8 5 3 10 4 OH STATE FANS.... AGE IN YEARS............ Tot Men Wom 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Yes 5% 4% 7% 9% 8% 12% 10% No 92 95 89 87 83 83 81 DK/NA 3 2 4 4 8 5 9
