Survey: Most KU fans believe NCAA punishment is coming. Do they still support Self?
Last week, we asked for responses to a Kansas Athletics survey aimed to gauge KU fans’ opinions on a number of topics.
We received an overwhelming response ... and frankly, even more than we wanted.
After sharing access to the survey on social media, some rival fanbases took note. That included Missouri’s infamous student group “The Antlers,” and before long, our inbox was getting flooded with responses that, let’s say, didn’t exactly take the survey seriously.
So out of 1,174 initial completed surveys, I parsed that number to 530 that were counted, using my best judgment to separate the true responses from the spam.
What’s left is an overview glimpse into the current thoughts of KU fans. Here’s a look at the multiple-choice responses from the survey (we’ll look at the short answer questions in a future story).
I was honestly a bit surprised KU graded out so well here, considering the circumstances. The athletic department faces a landmark NCAA violations case that will be decided in the next few few months, which potentially could have long-term ramifications for the men’s basketball program. This probably still speaks some, though, to the success of KU basketball as a whole. The Jayhawks were dominant again last year, and even without an NCAA Tournament, those feel-good vibes and the presence of Bill Self as basketball coach might be leaving many supporters feeling like the athletic department’s status is still just fine.
A mixed bag here, for sure. It probably didn’t help athletic director Jeff Long that this survey took place just after KU Athletics settled a 15-month legal drama by paying former football coach David Beaty a $2.55 million settlement, but having said that ... a majority of Long’s votes still ended up in the B and C range. KU fans appear to still be split on how good of a job he’s done so far.
There is no such debate when it comes to Self. Nearly three-fourths of respondents gave the Naismith hall-of-famer an “A” grade, while more than 90% gave him either an “A” or “B.” If any Missouri fans did slip through the cracks here ... they’re probably showing up in the 16 “F” votes that Self received.
KU fans seem to be pleased — thus far — with football coach Les Miles, who appears to have extended his honeymoon period another year following a three-win first season. Less than 5 percent of voters gave Miles a grade below a “C,” which would seem to indicate some optimism with the program moving forward.
Look no further for a benchmark in Miles’ second year. More than half of those polled expected either 3 or 4 wins from the Jayhawks in 2020. Any more than that would have to be considered a success.
KU’s NCAA violations case
If you’re expecting to see fan optimism in the survey ... this might be the best place to find it. More than one-third of KU fans believe the men’s basketball team will avoid a postseason ban as part of its current infractions case, which includes five Level I violations alleged against the program.
There has long been speculation that, because payments to KU forward Silvio De Sousa’s guardian are part of the violations alleged against the school, that the NCAA could potentially move to vacate the team’s 2018 Final Four. KU fans don’t appear to completely buy that, though, with a more-than 2-to-1 share believing that won’t happen.
The next two responses are especially fascinating when placed next to each other. More than half of KU fans in our survey said they believed that Self will be suspended because of the current NCAA allegations against him.
Yet ... that doesn’t mean KU fans will necessarily agree with this punishment if it’s handed down. More than 54% say they believe Self did not commit NCAA violations, which would mean that at least some portion believes that while Self didn’t violate bylaws, he’s going to be punished by the NCAA anyway. It’s also worth noting there are a lot of “undecided” voters too.
KU fan experience
KU Athletics introduced alcohol sales to all home football fans last year, and a majority of our respondents said they’d prefer that happen in Allen Fieldhouse as well. That won’t be happening any time soon, though, with Long telling The Star in April that KU had talked about the matter with donors and season-ticket holders before deciding that the Fieldhouse environment didn’t need adjusting.
Similar responses to the questions here. As a whole, KU fans are optimistic that there will be both college football and basketball this season despite the Coronavirus pandemic ... even if many believe there will be hiccups along the way.
Less than half of KU fans said they’d be fully comfortable — at this point — attending a home game at Allen Fieldhouse with the current threat of COVID-19. Football had a higher number of people willing to attend home games, which makes some sense given that current studies indicate being outdoors carries less of a risk than being inside with others. Notice that the yellow portions — the “undecideds” — take up a big part of both pie charts, as well.
This honestly surprised me ... I wouldn’t have expected the highest portion of KU fans to have watched nearly all of the program’s football games. There is a lot of variety from top to bottom of the poll here, which means KU appears to still have much to gain in regards to fan interest.
KU fans report that they’re not just tuning in for conference play ... they’re also watching all the Monmouth- and Chaminade-type games as well. The power of KU basketball seems to be reflected pretty well in this one chart.
This story was originally published June 16, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
