PA agrees with JoPa firing but still likes him, Penn State

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1 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 25, 2011 INTERVIEWS: Tom Jensen IF YOU HAVE BASIC METHODOLOGICAL QUESTIONS, PLEASE OR CONSULT THE FINAL PARAGRAPH OF THE PRESS RELEASE PA agrees with JoPa firing but still likes him, Penn State Raleigh, N.C. Pennsylvanians continue to have a pretty high opinion of legendary Penn State football coach Joe Paterno even after his ouster, and they have an even higher view of the university as a whole, despite their struggle to deal with the fallout from the allegations of sexual abuse by former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky. But the state s voters do narrowly agree with the college s decision to fire Paterno over the scandal, and Sandusky himself has hit an unsurprising new low for a public figure measured by PPP. 61% have a favorable opinion of Penn State overall, with a quarter seeing the school negatively and 14% not sure. Opinion on Paterno is ten points lower (51%), with 28% seeing him unfavorably and 21% not sure. But those are levels of popularity most politicians and other figures would envy. Though they still hold their coach of almost five decades in high esteem, Pennsylvanians do see the need to have let him go, at least to some extent. % agree that it was the right move, and 38% disagree. There is a huge gender gap in opinion on Paterno. 43% of women like him, and 30% dislike him, still solid, but that is a far cry from men s Strangely, though, men are actually more in favor of Paterno s dismissal (49-36) than women (42-39). On the other end of the spectrum is Sandusky, of whom only 3% have a favorable opinion and 88% an unfavorable one. Recently, PPP found Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers with an 89-4 favorability mark in Wisconsin, then the most popular person ever measured by the firm. Sandusky can be seen as his polar opposite. Both of Pittsburgh s pro sports teams can claim more fans in-state than their Philadelphia counterparts, even though one of them has had very little success on the field in the last two decades. A third of Pennsylvanians root for the Pirates to 27% for the Phillies, with 9% for the New York Yankees and five other teams at 5% or less. Almost half (49%) cheer for the Steelers, versus 20% for the Eagles, with six teams at 6% or less. PPP surveyed 500 Pennsylvania voters from November 17 th to 20 th. The margin of error for the survey is +/-4.4%. This poll was not paid for or authorized by any campaign or political organization. PPP surveys are conducted through automated telephone interviews. PPP is a Democratic polling company, but polling expert Nate Silver of the New York Times found that its surveys in 2010 actually exhibited a slight bias toward Republican candidates. Public Policy Polling Phone: Web: information@publicpolicypolling.com

2 Pennsylvania Survey Results Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of Penn State University as a whole?...61%...25%...14% Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of Joe Paterno?...51%...28%...21% Do you agree or disagree with the decision to fire Joe Paterno as Penn State football coach? Agree...% Disagree...38%...17% Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of Jerry Sandusky?... 3%...88%... 9% Q5 Q6 Given the choices of the Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles, Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Philadelphia Phillies, which is your favorite Major League ball team? Braves... 2% Orioles... 5% Cubs... 4% Indians... 2% Mets... 2% Yankees... 9% Pirates...33% Phillies...27%... 15% Given the choices of the Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Washington Redskins, which is your favorite NFL team? Ravens... 4% Browns... 3% Cowboys... 6% Giants... 3% Jets... 2% Eagles...20% Steelers...49% Redskins... 2%... 11% Survey of 500 Pennsylvania voters

3 Q7 Would you describe yourself as very liberal, somewhat liberal, moderate, somewhat, or very? liberal... 11% Somewhat liberal...18% Moderate...26% Somewhat...28%...18% Q8 If you are a woman, press 1. If a man, press 2. Woman...52% Q9 Man...48% If you are a Democrat, press 1. If a Republican, press 2. If you are an independent or identify with another party, press 3. Democrat...49% Republican...41% Independent/Other... 9% Q10 If you are white, press 1. If American, press 2. If other, press % American...12% Other... 4% Q11 If you are years old, press 1. If, press 2. If, press 3. If you are older than, press %...24%...40% than...20% Survey of 500 Pennsylvania voters

4 Penn St. Favorability 61% 55% 69% 66% 56% 57% 25% 33% 17% 20% 28% 28% 14% 12% 14% 14% 15% 14% Paterno Favorability 51% 41% 48% 53% 52% 56% 28% 34% 30% 26% 26% 26% 21% 26% 21% 21% 22% 18% Agree/Disagree w/ Firing Paterno? Agree Disagree % 63% 42% 43% 51% 33% 38% 21% 37% 40% 36% 46% 17% 16% 21% 17% 13% 21% Sandusky Favorability 3% 4% 3% 3% 4% 4% 88% 75% 91% 89% 91% 88% 9% 21% 6% 8% 5% 9%

5 Fave MLB Team Braves Orioles Cubs Indians Mets 2% 9% - 4% 2% - 5% 6% 6% 5% 4% 5% 4% 7% 6% 4% 3% 1% 2% 4% 1% 0% 4% 1% 2% - 1% 5% 1% 3% Yankees Pirates Phillies 9% 33% 27% 9% 22% 36% 8% 33% 33% 4% 36% 26% 9% 37% 23% 16% 30% 22% 15% 6% 12% 15% 17% 23% Fave NFL Team Ravens 4% 8% 4% 6% 3% 3% Browns 3% 7% 3% 2% 1% 2% Cow boys 6% 5% 10% 3% 8% 4% Giants 3% - 3% 3% 3% 3% Jets 2% 8% 1% 1% 1% 4% Eagle s 20% 34% 22% 23% 16% 14% Steelers 49% 31% 42% 54% 57% 48% Redskins 2% 2% 1% 2% 1% 7% 11% 5% 15% 7% 10% 16% Penn St. Favorability Wom an Man 61% 59% 63% 25% 23% 26% 14% 18% 11% Wom an Man Paterno Favorability 51% 43% 59% 28% 30% 26% 21% 27% 15%

6 Wom an Man Wom an Man Agree/Disagree w/ Firing Paterno? Sandusky Favorability Agree % 42% 49% 3% 4% 2% Disagre e 38% 39% 36% 88% 86% 91% 17% 19% 15% 9% 10% 7% Fave MLB Team Braves Orioles Cubs Indians Mets Yankees Pirates Phillies Wom an Man 2% 2% 2% 5% 6% 4% 4% 5% 3% 2% 0% 3% 2% 2% 2% 9% 9% 9% 33% 31% 35% 27% 27% 27% 15% 17% 14% Fave NFL Team Ravens Brow ns Cow boys Giants Jets Eagle s Steelers Redskins Wom an Man 4% 3% 6% 3% 2% 3% 6% 7% 6% 3% 2% 3% 2% 2% 2% 20% 19% 22% 49% 50% 48% 2% 3% 2% 11% 13% 8%

7 Democrat Republican Independent/Other Democrat Republican Independent/Other Penn St. Favorability Paterno Favorability 61% 61% 64% 50% 51% 47% 57% 41% 25% 23% 23% 40% 28% 30% 23% 35% 14% 17% 13% 9% 21% 22% 20% 24% Democrat Republican Independent/Other Democrat Republican Independent/Other Agree/Disagree w/ Firing Paterno? Sandusky Favorability Agree % 47% 41% 59% 3% 4% 1% 8% Disagree 38% 36% 41% % 88% 86% 91% 84% 17% 18% 18% 12% 9% 9% 8% 8%

8 Fave MLB Team Braves Orioles Cubs Indians Mets Yankees Pirates Phillies Democrat Republican Independent/Other 2% 2% 3% 4% 5% 3% 6% 12% 4% 6% 1% 5% 2% 1% 2% 8% 2% 2% 1% 5% 9% 6% 9% 23% 33% 37% 35% 5% 27% 30% 25% 19% 15% 13% 18% 19% Democrat Republican Independent/Other Fave NFL Team Ravens 4% 4% 4% 12% Browns Cowboys Giants Jets Eagle s Steelers Redskins 3% 3% 2% 6% 6% 7% 3% 12% 3% 2% 2% 5% 2% 2% 1% 6% 20% 23% 17% 22% 49% 49% 57% 16% 2% 2% 3% 4% 11% 9% 11% 17% Penn St. Favorability 61% 63% 49% 52% 25% 23% 35% 18% 14% 13% 16% 30% Paterno Favorability 51% 53% 34% 48% 28% 28% 25% 25% 21% 18% 41% 27%

9 Agree/Disagree w/ Firing Paterno? Sandusky Favorability Agree % 44% 56% 31% 3% 2% 12% 3% Dis agree 38% 40% 25% 28% 88% 92% 66% 81% 17% 16% 19% 41% 9% 6% 21% 16% Fave MLB Team Brave s Orioles Cubs Indians Mets Yankees Pirates Phillies 2% 2% 5% - 5% 5% 5% - 4% 3% 9% - 2% 2% 3% 4% 2% 2% 5% 7% 9% 10% 4% 8% 33% 36% 17% 20% 27% 25% 41% 37% 15% 16% 12% 23% Fave NFL Team Ravens Brow ns Cow boys Giants Jets Eagle s Steelers Redskins 4% 5% 3% - 3% 2% 8% 4% 6% 5% 14% - 3% 3% - 3% 2% 2% 1% 4% 20% 17% 39% 19% 49% 53% 24% 49% 2% 2% 4% - 11% 11% 7% 20%

10 than than Penn St. Favorability Paterno Favorability 61% 50% 71% 62% 57% 51% 43% 55% 52% 51% 25% 33% 22% 25% 22% 28% 33% 20% 31% 27% 14% 18% 8% 14% 21% 21% 25% 25% 17% 22% than than Agree/Disagree w/ Firing Paterno? Sandusky Favorability Agree % 55% 43% 44% 43% 3% 10% 2% 1% 4% Dis agree 38% 33% 35% 40% 39% 88% 75% 92% 91% 88% 17% 13% 22% 15% 19% 9% 15% 6% 8% 8%

11 Fave MLB Team Braves Orioles Cubs Indians Mets Yankees Pirates Phillies than 2% 8% 2% 1% 1% 5% 5% 6% 5% 4% 4% 8% 4% 3% 3% 2% 8% - 1% 2% 2% 3% - 3% 3% 9% 15% 8% 7% 8% 33% 18% 33% 36% 40% 27% 25% 31% 28% 22% 15% 13% 16% 15% 18% Fave NFL Team Ravens Brow ns Cow boys Giants Jets Eagle s Steelers Redskins than 4% 8% 6% 3% 4% 3% 10% - 2% 1% 6% 13% 6% 6% 2% 3% - 2% 3% 5% 2% 3% 4% 1% 1% 20% 28% 22% 18% 18% 49% 30% % 54% 58% 2% 3% 4% 2% 2% 11% 8% 12% 12% 10%