College football season is here. A new UtahPolicy.com survey from Dan Jones and Associates finds the University of Utah is the most popular college team in the state, and most Utahns expect the Utes to have the best season this year.
When asked what team they primarily support, the “U” came out on top as the first choice of more than a third of Utahns with 36%. BYU was second at 29%. Utah State got 11%, and Weber State was at 6%.
Our survey was taken from August 22-31, mostly before the University of Utah’s season-opening win over Weber State and entirely before BYU’s first game win over the University of Arizona. Most of our data were also collected before Utah State’s near upset of Michigan State in their opener.
When asked what team they expected to have the best season this year, regardless of team loyalty, nearly 6 in 10 Utahns picked the University of Utah to have the best season. Utah State was next at 9%, followed by BYU at 7% and Weber State at 5%. 21% of our respondents didn’t express an opinion.
Our poll found BYU is the college team of choice for Republicans and those who lean more conservative on the political spectrum, while Democrats, independents, and Utahns who are more moderate and liberal support the Utes.
- 44% of Republicans root for BYU, while only 6% of Democrats say they are fans of the Cougars.
- 61% of Utah Democrats back the Utes, while 21% of Republicans are fans of the “U.”
- 45% of political independents pick the University of Utah as their primary team, while just 8% said they prefer the “Y.”
- 13% of Republicans root for Utah State, while 9% of Democrats and 10% of independents are Aggie fans.
- 6% of Republicans, 3% of Democrats and 5% of independents in Utah are fans of Weber State.
- 51% of Utahns who say they are “very conservative” are BYU supporters. 21% of that group backs the Utes, while 10% are Aggies and 3% are Wildcats.
- Among self-identified “somewhat conservative” Utahns 38% are BYU fans, 23% root for the Utes, 12% back the Aggies and 9% support the Wildcats.
- Political moderates swing toward the Utes, with 43% of that group backing the Utes. 15% root for BYU, 13% are Aggies, and 7% are Wildcats.
- “Somewhat liberal” Utahns are big-time University of Utah fans, with 61% of that group rooting for the Utes. Just 6% in this group support BYU. 13% are Utah State fans, and 5% are Weber State backers.
- BYU was in last place among Utahns who said they were “very liberal” at just 4%. The U of U was the runaway winner in this group at 63% followed by Utah State at 6% and Weber State at 5%.
The Dan Jones & Associates survey was conducted August 22-31, 2018 among 809 likely Utah voters with a margin of error +/- 3.4%.
