Poll: Caitlin Clark Tops College Basketball Popularity; Women’s Tournament Likely to Break Viewer Records, Strongest NIL Support Recorded

By more than a two to one margin, Caitlin Clark is the best known college basketball player (male or female) in America.

Among self-described sports fans, 60 percent identified her as an NCAA athlete, and among avid fans that number rose to 73 percent. Among the general population, nearly half (47 percent) correctly identified her.

These were among the findings of a Seton Hall Sports Poll conducted March 15-18 among 1,519 adults across the country.  The poll, which is sponsored by Seton Hall University’s Stillman School of Business featured a national representative sample from YouGov weighted on U.S. Census Bureau figures for age, ethnicity, education, income and geography and has a margin of error of +/-3.0 percent.

In addition to cold identification, respondents were given the names of ten star NCAA basketball players from across the country – five male and five female. Iowa’s Caitlin Clark ranked first in name recognition. Among the general public 44 percent affirmed that they had heard of Clark. That number rose to 58 percent of sports fans and 68 percent of avid fans. Clark’s identification level was more than two times greater than any other college athlete on the list.

The next highest recognized athlete was another female basketball player, Angel Reese of LSU, who was identified by just 18 percent of the general population, 25 percent of sports fans and 34 percent of avid fans. Notably, four of the top six identified players were female. The most identified male college basketball player was Hunter Dickinson of Kansas, recognized by 11 percent of the general population, 16 percent of sports fans and 27 percent of avid fans.

Four times as many people recognized Clark as the most identified male college basketball player.

"Caitlin Clark is carrying the March Madness brand this year,” said Daniel Ladik, Ph.D., marketing professor in the Stillman School and chief methodologist to the Poll. “It’s likely that viewer numbers for the Women’s tournament will surpass all previous records and her presence alone is a logo shot for the NCAA."

Women’s Basketball More Popular than Ever? 
Nearly two-thirds of sports fans agreed with the statement that women’s NCAA basketball is more popular than ever. That agreement rose to 74 percent for avid fans and 73 percent of NCAA fans.

Indeed, almost all indicators are up for the women’s game compared to just a year ago. The Poll found that 48 percent of the general population plans on watching the women’s NCAA tournament, which is up 8 points over last year when 40 percent said they planned on watching.

Among sports fans, the number who plan to watch the women’s tournament was up 10 points from last year to 67 percent. Among avid fans, the number rose 7 points from last year to 77 percent. 

Men’s Madness
The number who say they will watch the men’s tournament is still higher (+5) than that for the women’s tournament, but relatively flat year over year. Among the general population 53 percent said they plan on watching the men’s tournament compared to 51 percent last year. Among sports fans the number for this year and last year is 75 percent. Among avid fans, however, 90 percent said they would be watching this year as opposed to 88 percent last year. 

Name Image and Likeness Numbers Rise Again to Highest Ever
Among the general population 71 percent believe that student-athletes should be allowed to profit from the use of their name image and likeness. That number rose from 66 percent last year.  

Among sports fans, 79 percent were in favor of NIL payments up from 72 percent last year. Among avid fans, the approval was even higher at 86 percent, up from 79 percent in 2023. 

How About Outright Pay? 
Asked if student athletes from revenue producing sports (largely basketball and football) should be compensated beyond scholarship and a cost of attendance stipend, 65 percent of the general population said yes, compared to 55 percent a year ago. Among sports fans that number rose to 71 percent from 62 percent last year; among avid fans 80 percent approved of student-athlete pay, up from 71 percent. 

Pay for Madness? 
Financial compensation for participating in March Madness also got a nod of approval from 54 percent of the general population, up from 48 percent last year. Among sports fans 62 percent were in favor, up from 56 percent last year. For avid fans 71 percent approved, up from 64. 

Booster Pay to Play? 
The numbers were less strong but still favorable for the concept of alumni donor collectives banding together to raise a money pool and form a company that then pays student-athletes via NIL who play for their university. Among the general population, 41 percent agreed with the proposition and 33 percent did not. A rather new concept, 26 percent of those polled said they did not know or held no opinion. Among sports fans the number who approved of these NIL collectives rose to 49 percent with 34 percent opposed. Perhaps not surprisingly, avid fans favored the existence of these booster companies to the tune of 60 percent and opposed it by just 29 percent.

"The NCAA tried to oppose these NIL collective companies and was shot down in court," said Seton Hall Professor Charles Grantham, M.B.A., director of the Center for Sport Management. "On the basketball court the ramifications of these collectives will generally favor the larger universities and their deeper pocket alumni. Boosterism has met the daylight and the college game will never be the same."

Stay Off the Court!
The practice of fans storming the court after a college basketball game has become a matter of debate. When asked if such an action should result in the forfeit of the game for the team whose fans have stormed the court, respondents were generally divided. Among the general population, 36 percent support a forfeit and 43 percent oppose it. Among sports fans, 41 percent favor the forfeit, and 44 percent oppose it.  For avid fans, 47 percent said a forfeit would be appropriate and 44 percent said it is not. 

An online version of this release may be found here; full questions and charted breakdowns below. 

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,  [email protected], 908-447-3034
- Marty Appel, [email protected]

March 2024 NCAA Seton Hall Sports Poll Results FINAL
Daniel Ladik, Ph.D., Chief Methodologist – [email protected]
This SHSP was conducted March 15th to March 18th and includes responses from 1,519 US adults with a margin of error of +/- 3.0%. The sample mirrors the US Census percentages on age, gender, income, education, ethnicity, and region.

For year-over-year comparisons, questions and tables from the March 2023 Seton Hall Sports Poll are also included below and are labeled 2023.

Q1. Which of the following statements best describes you?

*Note: Presented in each table, Avid + Casual = total sports fandom in the data. Some tables break out the Avid and Casual segments. 

Q2. Who is Caitlin Clark?

Q3. Which of the following NCAA basketball players have you ever heard of? Please select all that apply.

Q6a. Would you agree that Women’s NCAA basketball is more popular than ever?

Q10. On which devices, if at all, will you be watching any part of the NCAA Women’s 2024 March Madness college basketball tournament this year?

Q7. On which devices, if at all, will you be watching any part of the NCAA Women’s 2023 March Madness college basketball tournament this year? 

Q9. On which devices, if at all, will you be watching any part of the NCAA Men’s 2024 March Madness college basketball tournament this year?

Q6. On which devices, if at all, will you be watching any part of the NCAA Men’s 2023 March Madness college basketball tournament this year?

Q4a. Do you think student athletes should be allowed to profit from the use of their name, image, or likeness (NIL)?

Q3a. Do you think student athletes should be allowed to profit from the use of their name, image, or likeness? [2023]

Q4b. 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?

Q3b. 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? [2023]

Q5c. Do you think student athletes should be financially compensated, in addition to a scholarship and cost of attendance stipend, for participating in March Madness?

Q5a. Do you think student athletes should be financially compensated, in addition to a scholarship and cost of attendance stipend, for participating in March Madness? [2023]

Q6b. At several of the largest universities, Alumni have banded together to pool their money to offer lucrative NIL deals to student athletes to attract them to play for their university. Do you think this is fair?

Q6c. When big college basketball victories occur, occasionally fans of the winning team will leave their seats and run on the court to celebrate the win. Do you think charging the floor should be prohibited and result in a forfeit of the win?

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