TURNKEY Sports Poll November 2008 - college sports, 2008 in review and predictions for 2009

TURNKEY Sports Poll

Turnkey Sports & Entertainment owns the Turnkey Sports Poll, the industry’s continuing survey of senior-level executives and owners which probes the hottest issues inside sports. The results of the poll appear weekly in the SportsBusiness Journal.

November 2008
College sports, 2008 in review and predictions for 2009.

If each collegiate conference’s television rights were open for bidding, which conference would get the largest contract for the following sports?

Football:

Southeastern – 60.85%
Big Ten – 19.05%
Big 12 – 7.41%
Pacific-10 – 3.70%
ACC – 2.12%
Big East – 1.59%
Mid-American – 0.53%
Other – 0.00%

No response/Not sure – 4.76%

Basketball:

ACC – 69.31%
Big East – 14.29%
Southeastern – 4.76%
Big Ten – 3.70%
Pacific-10 – 2.65%
Mid-American – 0.53%
Other – 0.00%

No response/Not sure - 4.76%

Compared to professional sports, how will college athletics be affected by the current economic downturn?

Slightly less – 44.44%

About the same – 30.69%

Much less than professional sports – 13.23%

Slightly more – 7.94%

Much more than professional sports – 3.70%

Other than the fallout from the nation’s economic crisis, what has been the biggest sports business story of the year?

NFL owners opt out of current labor deal – 27.42%

Seattle SuperSonics relocation to Oklahoma City – 23.12%

NBC multimedia coverage of the Beijing Games – 17.74%

General Motors decision not to advertise in Super Bowl XLIII – 9.68%

Demand for MLS expansion teams – 6.99%

NBA China venture – 5.38%

NBA outsourcing its digital platform to Turner Broadcasting System – 1.61%

IFL and EliteXC folding – 1.08%

New Orleans Voodoo folding – 0.00%

Other – 2.15%

No response/Not sure – 4.84%

What was the most memorable championship event of 2008?

New York Giants vs. New England Patriots – Super Bowl – 44.62%

Tiger Woods vs. Rocco Mediate – US Open Golf – 20.97%

USA vs. France – Men’s Swimming 4 x 100 Meter Freestyle Final Beijing Olympics – 20.97%

Kansas Jayhawks vs. Memphis Tigers – NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship – 4.84%

Rafael Nadal vs. Roger Federer – Wimbledon Final – 4.84%

Manchester United vs. Chelsea – UEFA Champions League Final – 0.54%

Other – 3.23%

No response/Not sure – 0.00%

Who was the “Athlete of the Year” in 2008?

Michael Phelps (Swimming) – 73.12%

Usain Bolt (Track and Field) – 5.91%

Tiger Woods (Golf) – 4.30%

Eli Manning (NFL) – 3.23%

Kobe Bryant (NBA) – 2.15%

Rafael Nadal (Tennis) – 2.15%

Sidney Crosby (NHL) – 1.61%

Manny Ramirez (MLB) – 1.61%

Jimmie Johnson (NASCAR) – 1.08%

Nastia Liukin (Gymnastics) – 1.08%

Other – 2.69%

No response/Not sure – 1.08%

Which of the following was the biggest surprise of 2008?

Tampa Bay Rays making the World Series – 51.61%

New York Giants beating the New England Patriots in Super Bowl – 23.12%

Lack of problems at the Beijing Olympics – 12.90%

Growth of UFC/Mixed Martial Arts – 6.45%

US victory in the Ryder Cup – 2.69%

New York Yankees not making the playoffs – 2.15%

Availability of live, streaming sports events on the internet – 0.54%

No response/Not sure – 0.54%

Which revenue stream for sports properties will suffer the most due to the economic downturn?

Sponsorship – 51.61%

Ticketing – 22.58%

Media/advertising sales – 16.67%

Merchandising/retail – 6.99%

Concessions – 1.61

Other – 0.54%

None of these will suffer – 0.00

No response/Not sure – 0.00

Which sport will be affected the most by the current economic downturn?

NASCAR – 29.57%

NBA – 17.20%

PGA – 13.44%

NHL – 9.14%

MLB – 8.60%

AFL – 4.84%

LPGA – 3.23%

NFL – 2.69%

IRL – 1.61%

MLS – 1.61%

WTA – 1.08%

ATP – 0.54%

MiLB (Minor League Baseball) – 0.54%

NCAA basketball – 0.54%

NCAA football – 0.00%

No response/not sure – 5.38%

Which sport will have the best 2009?

NFL – 33.87%

MLB – 11.83%

NCAA football – 10.22%

MiLB (Minor League Baseball) – 7.53%

MLS – 6.45%

NCAA basketball – 6.45%

NHL – 5.91%

NBA – 5.38%

NASCAR – 2.69%

PGA – 2.69%

ATP – 1.08%

WTA – 0.54%

AFL – 0.54%

IRL – 0.00%

LPGA – 0.00%

No response/not sure – 4.84%

Lately, many sports have been faced with the prospect of losing athletes to overseas leagues. During their respective off-seasons, many NBA and NHL players flirted with or actually went through with signing contracts with European teams. In June, Brandon Jennings bypassed college to play professionally in Europe before entering the NBA Draft. Also, the European Tour is drawing American golfers to join their tour in order to participate in the $10 million “Race to Dubai”.

Which North American league is at the greatest risk to lose players to overseas leagues?

MLS – 29.57%

NBA – 27.42%

NHL – 27.42%

NCAA Basketball – 7.53%

PGA Tour – 5.38%

No response/not sure – 2.69%

Thinking about your own particular business, what best describes your confidence level regarding the next 12 months for your own business?

	Nov. 07	Sept. 08	Oct. 08	Nov. 08
Optimistic (5, 6, or 7)	86.35%	74.77%	55.05%	45.70%
Neutral (4)	4.88%	8.88%	11.62%	15.59%
Pessimistic (1, 2, or 3)	8.78%	15.88%	32.83%	38.18%
No response/Not sure	0.00%	0.47%	0.51%	0.54%

The graph below shows the percentage of respondents who indicated that they were optimistic (5, 6, or 7 on a 7-pt. scale) vs. those who said that they were pessimistic (1, 2 or 3).