Raleigh, N.C. – Pennsylvanians continue to have a pretty high opinion of legendary Penn State football coach Joe Paterno even after his ouster, and they have an even higher view of the university as a whole, despite their struggle to deal with the fallout from the allegations of sexual abuse by former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky. But the state’s voters do narrowly agree with the college’s decision to fire Paterno over the scandal, and Sandusky himself has hit an unsurprising new low for a public figure measured by PPP.
61% have a favorable opinion of Penn State overall, with a quarter seeing the school negatively and 14% not sure. Opinion on Paterno is ten points lower (51%), with 28% seeing him unfavorably and 21% not sure. But those are levels of popularity most politicians and other figures would envy. Though they still hold their coach of almost five decades in high esteem, Pennsylvanians do see the need to have let him go, at least to some extent. 45% agree that it was the right move, and 38% disagree.
There is a huge gender gap in opinion on Paterno. 43% of women like him, and 30% dislike him, still solid, but that is a far cry from men’s 59-26. Strangely, though, men are actually more in favor of Paterno’s dismissal (49-36) than women (42-39).
On the other end of the spectrum is Sandusky, of whom only 3% have a favorable opinion and 88% an unfavorable one. Recently, PPP found Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers with an 89-4 favorability mark in Wisconsin, then the most popular person ever measured by the firm. Sandusky can be seen as his polar opposite.
Both of Pittsburgh’s pro sports teams can claim more fans in-state than their Philadelphia counterparts, even though one of them has had very little success on the field in the last two decades. A third of Pennsylvanians root for the Pirates to 27% for the Phillies, with 9% for the New York Yankees and five other teams at 5% or less. Almost half (49%) cheer for the Steelers, versus 20% for the Eagles, with six teams at 6% or less.
PPP surveyed 500 Pennsylvania voters from November 17th to 20th. The margin of error for the survey is +/-4.4%. 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 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Penn State University as a whole?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 61%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 25%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 14%
Q2 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Joe Paterno?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 51%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 28%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 21%
Q3 Do you agree or disagree with the decision to
fire Joe Paterno as Penn State football coach?
Agree …………………………………………………….. 45%
Disagree ………………………………………………… 38%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 17%
Q4 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Jerry Sandusky?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 3%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 88%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 9%
Q5 Given the choices of the Atlanta Braves,
Baltimore Orioles, Chicago Cubs, Cleveland
Indians, New York Mets, New York Yankees,
Pittsburgh Pirates, and Philadelphia Phillies,
which is your favorite Major League Baseball
team?
Braves …………………………………………………… 2%
Orioles …………………………………………………… 5%
Cubs ……………………………………………………… 4%
Indians …………………………………………………… 2%
Mets………………………………………………………. 2%
Yankees …………………………………………………. 9%
Pirates …………………………………………………… 33%
Phillies …………………………………………………… 27%
Someone else/Don’t have a favorite team …… 15%
Q6 Given the choices of the Baltimore Ravens,
Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys, New York
Giants, New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles,
Pittsburgh Steelers, and Washington Redskins,
which is your favorite NFL team?
Ravens…………………………………………………… 4%
Browns…………………………………………………… 3%
Cowboys………………………………………………… 6%
Giants ……………………………………………………. 3%
Jets ……………………………………………………….. 2%
Eagles……………………………………………………. 20%
Steelers………………………………………………….. 49%
Redskins………………………………………………… 2%
Someone else/Don’t have a favorite team …… 11%
Q7 Would you describe yourself as very liberal,
somewhat liberal, moderate, somewhat
conservative, or very conservative?
Very liberal ……………………………………………… 11%
Somewhat liberal …………………………………….. 18%
Moderate………………………………………………… 26%
Somewhat conservative……………………………. 28%
Very conservative ……………………………………. 18%
Q8 If you are a woman, press 1. If a man, press 2.
Woman ………………………………………………….. 52%
Man……………………………………………………….. 48%
Q9 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 ……………………………………………….. 49%
Republican……………………………………………… 41%
Independent/Other…………………………………… 9%
Q10 If you are white, press 1. If African-American,
press 2. If other, press 3.
White …………………………………………………….. 84%
African-American …………………………………….. 12%
Other……………………………………………………… 4%
Q11 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………………………………………………….. 16%
30 to 45………………………………………………….. 24%
46 to 65………………………………………………….. 40%
Older than 65………………………………………….. 20%
