New poll says Swinney most popular coach in SC, but more Gamecocks fans

by Press Release - Wed Feb 25 14:39:52 GMT-04:00 2015

Raleigh, N.C. – PPP’s latest poll of South Carolina voters finds that the South Carolina Gamecocks are the most popular college athletics program in the state.

When matched up in a head-to-head with the Clemson Tigers, USC comes out on top 43/32. The Gamecocks’ support is broad-based, with both Democrats and Republicans claiming fandom at 46/28 and 42/34, respectively. USC dominates with younger voters (62/26) and also wins across racial demographics—white voters (42/31) and AfricanAmerican

voters (47/32) both support the state’s flagship university.

Clemson wins with only two of the demographics measured—very liberal voters back the Tigers 36/30, and voters in the Upstate support them 45/27.

“As South Carolina and Clemson take the field for college baseball’s biggest rivalry series this weekend most fans in the state will be pulling for the Gamecocks,” said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling.

USC and Clemson fans wholeheartedly endorse the coaches of their respective schools’ revenue-generating teams. Gamecocks football coach Steve Spurrier is wildly popular among USC fans with a 76% approval rating. Just four percent of South Carolina fans disapprove of Spurrier’s job performance. Baseball coach Chad Holbrook is also heavily supported at 53/2 approval, and basketball coach Frank Martin receives a 39/13 approval rating.

Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney is the most popular out of all of the coaches polled, earning a +75 net approval rating. Basketball coach Brad Brownell is well-liked at 44/4 approval, and baseball coach Jack Leggett comes in at 42/9.

Unsurprisingly, the Carolina Panthers are the most popular NFL team among South Carolinians at 25% support. The Dallas Cowboys come in second at 12%. The Atlanta Braves are by far the most preferred MLB team, drawing a 48% share of voters.

PPP surveyed 868 registered South Carolina voters from February 12th to 15th. The margin of error for the survey is +/- 3.3%. 80% of interviews for the poll were conducted over the phone with 20% interviewed over the internet to reach respondents who don’t have landline telephones.

See full results here