In a Nationwide Poll, 52% Say College Sports Overemphasized

More than half of all Americans believe college sports are overemphasized today, and half think overzealous fans often violate rules by giving money to players, according to a Media General-Associated Press poll.

In an era of megabuck revenues for college football and basketball, 52% of the 1,304 adult Americans questioned in the nationwide telephone poll thought campus sports were given too much em1885888883proper emphasis.

College graduates were far more likely than those with less education to say sports were overemphasized in college.

Overall, 54% of respondents thought college booster clubs commonly violated rules by giving money to college players, while 18% said it was an infrequent occurrence. Another 28% were unsure.

Sports scandals last week led the state of Texas to adopt a law meant to curb college sports cheating. The law makes it a civil offense to violate rules of the NCAA and holds violators liable for monetary losses suffered by their schools as a result of NCAA sanctions.

SMU, a Texas school, has been rocked hard by scandal. In the harshest penalty ever against a college football program, the NCAA suspended SMU football for 1987, citing $61,000 in illicit payments to 13 players or former players. The school subsequently decided not to play football in 1988.

In the poll, 64% of respondents had heard about the SMU scandal, and 60% thought the NCAA penalty was appropriate.