Raleigh, N.C. – PPP’s 5th annual UNC-Duke poll finds that UNC is North Carolina’s most popular school, with 32% of respondents saying it’s their favorite college. Duke (19%) and NC State (18%) are in a tight battle for second place, with ECU claiming 8%, Wake Forest 6% and 17% saying “none of these” schools are their favorite.
UNC also leads once again when voters are asked who they’ll be rooting for in Wednesday’s Duke-UNC men’s basketball matchup, 41-31. This is the smallest their lead’s been in 5 years of asking the question though (2011: UNC 37, Duke 22; 2010: UNC 35, Duke 21; 2009: UNC 40, Duke 24; 2008: UNC 40, Duke 24).
There’s a healthy amount of respect between the fanbases. 49% of UNC fans say they “respect” Duke while just 16% “hate Duke.” And 53% of Duke fans “respect” UNC with only 16% “hating” the Tar Heels.
“The level of hated between the UNC and Duke fan bases gets a little over blown,” said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling. “They generally respect each other.”
Roy Williams and Mike Krzyzewski both get favorable opinions from voters – Coach K sees a 51% favorability rating with 15% unfavorable, with Williams at 51% favorable and 10% unfavorable. Roy Williams seems to have fully recovered from UNC’s stumbles during the 2010 season: he’s up 13 points from 2011 when his favorability ratings were 38-10.
When pitted against each other in a hypothetical Gubernatorial matchup, Krzyzewski has the edge over Williams, 34-31, with 35% undecided.
When asked from which school voters would rather have a child graduate from, voters chose Duke over UNC, 40-34.
PPP surveyed 1,052 North Carolina voters from February 3rd to 5th. The margin of error for the survey is +/-3.02%. This poll was not paid for or authorized by any campaign or political organization. PPP surveys are conducted through automated telephone interviews. PPP is a Democratic polling company, but polling expert Nate Silver of the New York Times found that its surveys in 2010 actually exhibited a slight bias toward Republican candidates.
Topline results are below. Full results, including crosstabs, can be found here.
Q1 Given the choices of Duke, East Carolina, NC
State, UNC, and Wake Forest, which is your
favorite North Carolina college?
Duke ……………………………………………………… 19%
ECU………………………………………………………. 8%
NCSU ……………………………………………………. 18%
UNC………………………………………………………. 32%
WFU ……………………………………………………… 6%
None of these …………………………………………. 17%
Q2 Who will you be rooting for in the Duke-UNC
basketball game on Wednesday night?
Duke ……………………………………………………… 31%
UNC………………………………………………………. 41%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 28%
Q3 (Duke fans only:) Would you describe yourself
as a hardcore, moderate, or casual Duke fan?
Hardcore………………………………………………… 19%
Moderate………………………………………………… 32%
Casual……………………………………………………. 48%
Q4 (Duke fans only:) When Duke is playing a team
other than UNC, do you generally root for
them, root against them, or do you not care?
Root for UNC ………………………………………….. 35%
Root against UNC……………………………………. 35%
Don’t care ………………………………………………. 30%
Q5 (Duke fans only:) Which of the following best
describes how you feel toward UNC: respect
them, don’t like them very much, hate them, or
don’t care about them?
Respect them………………………………………….. 49%
Don’t like them very much…………………………. 22%
Hate them………………………………………………. 16%
Don’t care about them………………………………. 12%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 1%
Q6 (UNC fans only:) Would you describe yourself
as a hardcore, moderate, or casual UNC fan?
Hardcore………………………………………………… 28%
Moderate………………………………………………… 36%
Casual……………………………………………………. 36%
Q7 (UNC fans only:) When UNC is playing a team
other than Duke, do you generally root for
them, root against them, or do you not care?
Root for Duke………………………………………….. 23%
Root against Duke …………………………………… 36%
Don’t care ………………………………………………. 41%
Q8 (UNC fans only:) Which of the following best
describes how you feel toward Duke: respect
them, don’t like them very much, hate them, or
don’t care about them?
Respect them………………………………………….. 53%
Don’t like them very much…………………………. 17%
Hate them………………………………………………. 16%
Don’t care about them………………………………. 14%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 1%
Q9 (Asked only of those with an opinion on
Duke/UNC:) As a basketball fan, which of the
following outcomes makes you most happy:
Duke winning, Duke losing, UNC winning, or
UNC losing?
Duke winning ………………………………………….. 32%
Duke losing…………………………………………….. 7%
UNC winning…………………………………………… 43%
UNC losing……………………………………………… 8%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 9%
Q10 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Mike Krzyzewski?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 51%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 15%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 34%
Q11 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Roy Williams?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 51%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 10%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 39%
Q12 If the candidates for Governor this fall were
Republican Mike Krzyzewski and Democrat
Roy Williams, who would you vote for?
Mike Krzyzewski …. .34%
Roy Williams ………. .31%
Not sure …………….. .35%
Q13 Regardless of who you prefer in basketball,
would you rather have a child graduate from
Duke or UNC?
Duke …………………. .40%
UNC………………….. .34%
Not sure …………….. .25%
Q14 Who did you vote for President in 2008?
John McCain…………………………………………… 47%
Barack Obama………………………………………… 47%
Someone else/Don’t remember …………………. 6%
Q15 Would you describe yourself as very liberal,
somewhat liberal, moderate, somewhat
conservative, or very conservative?
Very liberal ……………………………………………… 10%
Somewhat liberal …………………………………….. 15%
Moderate………………………………………………… 29%
Somewhat conservative……………………………. 24%
Very conservative ……………………………………. 22%
Q16 If you are a woman, press 1. If a man, press 2.
Woman ………………………………………………….. 51%
Man……………………………………………………….. 49%
Q17 If you are a Democrat, press 1. If a Republican,
press 2. If you are an independent or identify
with another party, press 3.
Democrat ……………………………………………….. 43%
Republican……………………………………………… 35%
Independent/Other…………………………………… 23%
Q18 If you are white, press 1. If African-American,
press 2. If other, press 3.
White …………………………………………………….. 73%
African-American …………………………………….. 22%
Other……………………………………………………… 6%
Q19 If you are 18 to 29 years old, press 1. If 30 to
45, press 2. If 46 to 65, press 3. If you are
older than 65, press 4.
18 to 29………………………………………………….. 12%
30 to 45………………………………………………….. 26%
46 to 65………………………………………………….. 42%
Older than 65………………………………………….. 20%
Q20
252………………………………………………………… 11%
336………………………………………………………… 19%
704………………………………………………………… 21%
828………………………………………………………… 14%
910………………………………………………………… 14%
919………………………………………………………… 21%
