Raleigh, N.C. – The N.C. State men’s basketball program will be starting fresh next season. After five losing conference seasons, Sidney Lowe was pressured to resign as head coach, and Athletic Director Kay Yow hired former Alabama coach Mark Gottfried. State fans in North Carolina are pretty happy with that decision, according to poll results from PPP.
27% of North Carolina voters claim to root for NCSU, including 31% in the 919 area code which encompasses Raleigh and the surrounding metro area. In PPP’s February poll of the state, only 16% statewide and 23% in the Triangle claimed to cheer for State in college basketball, but that was when voters were asked if they were fans of State, Carolina, Duke, or Wake.
Then, in the thick of the ACC season, State fans were actually slightly in favor of keeping Lowe on for another year, by a 39-27 margin over letting him go, 37-27 among Raleigh area residents. But now they narrowly agree that he should have gone, 33-26. And they accordingly give Yow good marks, 53% approving of her job performance and only 6% disapproving. Understandably, most fans (63%) are not yet sure how they feel about Gottfried, but 27% think he was a good hire, and only 10% a bad one.
Now those closest to the actual school are most emphatic about Yow, Lowe’s firing, and Gottfried. Yow gets an overwhelming 71-3 nod from 919 residents; they agree with her getting rid of Lowe by a 50-19 spread; and they are optimistic on Gottfried, 42-9.
There are large racial and gender gaps on Lowe’s dismissal. Men think it was a smart move by more than a 2:1 margin (45-20), but women slightly disapprove (23-30). White State fans agree with Yow’s move 40-19, while African-Americans feel the reverse: 20-40 against. Blacks are therefore not surprisingly split on Gottfried, 15-15, while the whites who do have an opinion on him laud the hiring, 32-7.
PPP surveyed 507 North Carolina voters, including 137 N.C. State fans, from April 14th to 17th. The margin of error for the entire sample is +/-4.4%, and +/-8.4% for State fans. 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 can be found here.
Q1 Do you consider yourself to be an NC State
fan?
Yes………………………………………………………… 27%
No …………………………………………………………. 50%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 23%
Q2 (State fans only) Do you approve or disapprove
of the job Debbie Yow is doing as Athletic
Director?
Approve …………….. .53%
Disapprove…………. . 6%
Not sure …………….. .41%
Q3 (State fans only) Do you agree or disagree with
the decision to fire Sidney Lowe as basketball
coach?
Agree ………………… .33%
Disagree ……………. .26%
Not sure …………….. .41%
Q4 (State fans only) Do you think Mark Gottfried
was a good hire or a bad hire as Sidney Lowe’s
replacement, or are you not sure?
Good hire…………… .27%
Bad hire …………….. .10%
Not sure …………….. .63%
Q5 Who did you vote for President in 2008?
John McCain…………………………………………… 48%
Barack Obama………………………………………… 46%
Someone else/Don’t remember …………………. 6%
Q6 Would you describe yourself as very liberal,
somewhat liberal, moderate, somewhat
conservative, or very conservative?
Very liberal ……………………………………………… 9%
Somewhat liberal …………………………………….. 14%
Moderate………………………………………………… 32%
Somewhat conservative……………………………. 22%
Very conservative ……………………………………. 22%
Q7 If you are a woman, press 1. If a man, press 2.
Woman ………………………………………………….. 53%
Man……………………………………………………….. 47%
Q8 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 ……………………………………………….. 46%
Republican……………………………………………… 36%
Independent/Other…………………………………… 18%
Q9 If you are white, press 1. If African-American,
press 2. If other, press 3.
White …………………………………………………….. 74%
African-American …………………………………….. 22%
Other……………………………………………………… 4%
Q10 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………………………………………………….. 10%
30 to 45………………………………………………….. 25%
46 to 65………………………………………………….. 45%
Older than 65………………………………………….. 20%
Q11
252………………………………………………………… 8%
336………………………………………………………… 26%
704………………………………………………………… 20%
828………………………………………………………… 13%
910………………………………………………………… 11%
919………………………………………………………… 21%
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