Poll on Caitlin Clark in USA Today, Forbes, Chronical, More

Findings from the most recent Seton Hall Sports Poll that looked at name recognition for college basketball star Caitlin Clark were featured in media across the country.

The findings were featured by USA Today, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Forbes (article from Susan M. Shaw, Professor of Women & Gender Studies, Oregon State), PR News, Yahoo, ESPN, Sports Business Journal (two separate), Sportico, Sports Illustrated's The Spun, the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorderand more than 50 local TV stations across the U.S. via a syndicated article from Scripps News. Tweets on the findings came from the Wall Street Journal'sRachel Bachman (two) and Darren Rovell (1.9 million followers, 201k views).

Conducted March 15-18 among 1,519 adults across the country, the Sports Poll found that by more than a 2 to 1 margin, Caitlin Clark is the best known college basketball player (male or female) in America.

The USA Today article, "It's official: Caitlin Clark is the most popular player in college basketball this year," noted

The Iowa star was correctly identified as an NCAA athlete by nearly half the population, 47%, in a Seton Hall Sports Poll, a figure that rose to 60% for sports fans and 69% for college sports fans. Perhaps more telling, when poll participants were given the names of 10 college basketball players, five men and five women, Clark had more than twice the name recognition of any other athlete - and four times the name recognition of the top men's player.

Clark's name was recognized by 44% of the general population while LSU's Angel Reese was second, at 18%. Clark's name recognition rose to 58% among sports fans and 65% among NCAA fans.

In a sign of the growing popularity of the women's game, four of the six most-recognized athletes were women's players: Clark and Reese, with UConn's Paige Bueckers fifth (10%) and Stanford's Cameron Brink sixth (9%). Hunter Dickinson of Kansas and Purdue's Zach Edey, both at 11%, were the only men's players in the top five.

The USA Today article was also featured by Yahoo.

In the Chronicle of Higher Education the Sports Poll findings on Caitlin Clark were featured in the "Daily Briefing" along with data regarding the year-over-year rise in the number of Americans who said they would watch the NCAA Women's Tournament.

Who's the most famous college basketball player? More than four in 10 people said they'd heard of Iowa's Caitlin Clark, giving her four times the name recognition of the top male players in a new survey. Almost half of those polled, 48 percent, plan to watch the women's NCAA tournament this year, up eight percentage points from last year, and close to the 53 percent who plan to watch the men's tournament. (The Seton Hall Sports Poll)

In Forbes the Sports Poll was featured in an article written by Professor Susan M. Shaw, Women & Gender Studies, Oregon State. Shaw's article, "Why The NCAA Women's Tournament Is Generating More Excitement Than The Men's," cites the essential nature of Title IX in getting to this point and explains how "subtle shifts began to happen as coaches like Pat Summitt, Tara VanDerveer, and Geno Auriemma developed dominant teams that captured fans' imagination about what might be possible."

Shaw then notes the culmination of the possible:

Many pundits claim the women's tournament is already shaping up to outshine the men's. While many basketball fans, including those new to college basketball because of the women's game, can name players like Clark, Reece, Watkins, Brink, Paige Bueckers, Hannah Hildago, and Kamilla Cardoso, many would be hard-pressed to name as many men.

A Seton Hall poll found Clark is the best known college basketball player, woman or man, in the US by a 2-to-1 margin. In fact, 47% of the general population correctly identified her.

Sports Business Journal included the Sports Poll in their Daily Digit feature, relaying to their readers:

44% -- A Seton Hall Sports Poll conducted March 15-18 among 1,519 adults across the country found that Iowa G Caitlin Clark is the most recognizable name in all of college basketball, men's and women's, with 44% of respondents affirming that they had heard of Clark -- more than twice that of the second name on the list (LSU's Angel Reese, 18%) (YouGov).

The Sports Business Journal also featured the Sports Poll findings in an article, "Caitlin Clark sparks grand excitement for NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament."

Sportico cited the poll's findings in "Disney Sales Team Cleans Up on March Madness Ad Market"; Sports Illustrated'sThe Spun took a more in-depth dive in "Study Determines 5 Most Popular Men's, Women's College Basketball Players."

The Scripps News article, "Poll: Caitlin Clark is biggest name in NCAA basketball, male or female," was featured by more than 50 local TV stations across America, including KTVQ, Montana; WPTV, NBC, Palm Beach; News 5 Cleveland, ABC; News Channel 5, Nashville; KRIS 6 News, Corpus Christi, Tx; WMAR, ABC Baltimore; KSBY 6, Central California Coast; FOX 13, Salt Lake City; WRTV, ABC Indianapolis; and KJRH 2, Oklahoma.

The article recounted the Sports Poll's findings and, as did a number of other media outlets, included a quote from Marketing Professor Daniel Ladik:

"Caitlin Clark is carrying the March Madness brand this year," the poll's chief methodologist Daniel Ladik said in a blog post. "It's likely that viewer numbers for the Women's tournament will surpass all previous records and her presence alone is a logo shot for the NCAA."

The Seton Hall Sports Poll surveyed more than 1,500 U.S. adults between March 15-18. It was conducted in partnership with Seton Hall University's Stillman School of Business and YouGov, a global public opinion and data company.

In PR News the findings were featured in PR Roundup, "March Madness Begins." In addition to recounting the Poll's findings at length, PR News writes:

Daniel Ladik, marketing professor at Seton Hall and chief methodologist to the Poll says Caitlin Clark is carrying the March Madness brand this year.

"It's likely that viewer numbers for the Women's tournament will surpass all previous records and her presence alone is a logo shot for the NCAA."

Ladik also notes that Clark's recognition transcends the sport because more than 1 in 5 non-sports fans correctly identified her, which allows for plenty of new eyes on the women's tournament.

"Clark's historic run to the all-time leading scorer in NCAA history in itself was captivating," Ladik says. "But in addition to being an elite athlete, she has unmistakable charisma, and the public has noticed. Like every athlete considered a GOAT-whether Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretsky, Billie Jean King or Serena Williams- she both transcends the sport and propels it forward at the same time."

Personalities like Clark can be a real boon for any public relations campaign, due to the multiple demographics her persona can reach, Ladik notes.

"If a brand is able to leverage that, it can't miss."

The full release along with questions and charted breakdowns can be found at: Caitlin Clark, the Most Popular College Basketball Player in America: Women's Tournament likely to break records, NIL registers strongest support ever.

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