The Madness Continues; While March Madness May Rule Basketball Courts, Office Pools Are Not as Common as Thought

The Madness Continues; While March Madness May Rule Basketball Courts, Office Pools Are Not as Common as Thought

ROCHESTER, N.Y., March 21 /PRNewswire/ -- As the first weekend of March Madness has drawn to a close and many assess their NCAA college basketball tournament pool picks, a new Harris Interactive(R) online survey shows only 19 percent of U.S. adults claim to have ever participated in an office pool for March Madness. Even among those who say they follow men's college basketball (23% of adults), slightly over half (51%) have ever participated in an office pool.

These are the results of a Harris Poll conducted online by Harris Interactive among a nationwide sample of 2,630 adults, of whom 641 follow college basketball, between March 8 and 14, 2005.

When asked if the tournament causes productivity to suffer, two in five (42%) agreed that it does as people first make their picks and then watch the games. Among college basketball followers, however, it is slightly less of a productivity issue -- only 35 percent think the tournament causes productivity to suffer.

We also asked if they would be participating in a pool this year and 12 percent of U.S. adults said that they would. Even among college basketball followers, one-third (32%) say they will be participating this year. This still translates into approximately 26 million adults* who will fill out brackets this year. (* Based on U.S. Census, July 2004 estimate of 220 million adults.)

Among those who do participate, the reason is financial -- two-thirds (67%) of those who say they will take part in an office pool this year say they do it for the chance to win money. Among college basketball followers, two-thirds (65%) say it is the chance to win money, but over three-quarters (77%) say it is because they like college basketball. More than four in ten (44%) basketball followers say they participate because it gives them a chance to bond with co-workers.

Some other results from The Harris Poll(R) were:

* Not surprisingly, there appears to be a gender and age gap among pool
participants. While almost one-third of men (31%) have ever participated
in an office pool only 8 percent of women have.

* Among age groups, Gen Xers (aged 28 to 39) are the most likely to have
ever participated in an office pool for March Madness (25%) while
Matures (those aged 59 and older) are least likely to have ever
participated (16%).

* There is also a regional difference -- those in the Midwest are most
likely to have ever dipped their toe in the basketball pool (27%) as
compared to those in the East and West (16% each). Among college
basketball followers, those in the Midwest are still most likely to have
ever participated (62%), but those in the East are the ones least likely
(41%).

* Education also plays a role. The more education one has the more likely
one is to have ever participated in an office pool. Also, the less
education one has, the more likely they are to believe the tournament
causes a loss of productivity. This is true whether one is a college
basketball follower or not. However, this is not the case for this year.
Regardless of whether one is a college basketball follower or not, those
who have graduated college are more likely than postgraduates to
participate in an office pool this year.

One thing to keep in mind when examining these numbers is that they may be a bit understated. Given that such betting is technically illegal in most of the country, people may not be willing to admit that they engage in this activity.

TABLE 1
Ever Participated in Office Pool
"Have you ever participated in an office pool for March Madness (the NCAA
College basketball tournament)?"
Base: All Adults
Total Gender Generation
Male Female Echo Gen Xers Baby Matures
Boomers Boomers
(age 18-27) (age 28-39) (age 40-58) (age 59 +)
% % % % % % %
Yes 19 31 8 21 25 17 16
No 81 69 92 79 75 83 84

TABLE 2
Ever Participated in Office Pool
"Have you ever participated in an office pool for March Madness (the NCAA
College basketball tournament)?"
Base: All Adults
Total Region Education
East Midwest South West High Some College Post-
School College Graduate graduate
or Less
% % % % % % % % %
Yes 19 16 27 18 16 9 21 30 36
No 81 84 73 82 84 91 79 70 64

TABLE 3
Ever Participated in Office Pool
"Have you ever participated in an office pool for March Madness (the NCAA
College basketball tournament)?"
Base: Follow College Basketball
Total Gender Generation
Male Female Echo Gen Xers Baby Matures
Boomers Boomers
(age 18-27) (age 28-39)(age 40-58) (age 59+)
% % % % % % %
Yes 51 58 32 59 65 44 43
No 49 42 68 41 35 56 57

TABLE 4
Ever Participated in Office Pool
"Have you ever participated in an office pool for March Madness (the NCAA
College basketball tournament)?"
Base: Follow College Basketball
Total Region Education
East Midwest South West High Some College Post-
School College Graduate graduate
or Less
% % % % % % % % %
Yes 51 41 62 48 50 37 53 60 61
No 49 59 38 52 50 63 47 40 39

TABLE 5
Agree/Disagree Pools Affect Productivity
"Some believe that the tournament causes productivity to suffer as people

first try to make their picks and then follow the games. How strongly do you

agree that office pools for the tournament cause productivity to suffer?"
Base: All Adults
Total Education
High Some College Post-
School College Graduate graduate
or Less
% % % % %
Agree* 42 51 38 35 34
Disagree** 58 49 62 65 66
* includes strongly and somewhat agree
** includes strongly and somewhat disagree

TABLE 6
Agree/Disagree Pools Affect Productivity
"Some believe that the tournament causes productivity to suffer as people

first try to make their picks and then follow the games. How strongly do you

agree that office pools for the tournament cause productivity to suffer?"
Base: Follow College Basketball
Total Education
High Some College Post-
School College Graduate graduate
or Less
% % % % %
Agree* 35 48 31 30 28
Disagree** 65 52 69 70 72
* includes strongly and somewhat agree
** includes strongly and somewhat disagree

TABLE 7
This Year's Pool Participation
"Will you be participating in a pool this year?"
Base: All Adults
Total Education
High Some College Post-
School College Graduate graduate
or Less
% % % % %
Definitely
/Probably 12 7 12 20 18
Probably
Not/
Definitely
Not 88 93 88 80 82

TABLE 8
This Year's Pool Participation
"Will you be participating in a pool this year?"
Base: Follow College Basketball
Total Education
High Some College Post-
School College Graduate graduate
or Less
% % % % %
Definitely
/Probably 32 22 33 40 34
Probably
Not/
Definitely
Not 68 78 67 60 66

TABLE 9
Why Participate
"Why will you participate in the pool?"
Base: Definitely/Probably Will Participate
Total
All Adults Follow College Basketball
% %
Chance to win
some money 67 65
Like college
basketball 55 77
Chance to bond
with co-workers 35 44
Everyone else does it 16 13
Other 11 7

TABLE 10
Sports Followers
"Do you follow any of these sports?"
Base: All Adults
Total
%
College Football 30
Men's College Basketball 23
Women's College Basketball 9
College Baseball 7
College Hockey 3
Other College Sport 6
I follow none of these sports 64

Methodology

The Harris Poll(R) was conducted online within the United States between March 8 and 14, 2005 among a nationwide cross section of 2,630 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online.

In theory, with probability samples of this size, one could say with 95 percent certainty that the results have a sampling error of plus or minus 2 percentage points. Unfortunately, there are several other possible sources of error in all polls or surveys that are probably more serious than theoretical calculations of sampling error. They include refusals to be interviewed (non- response), question wording and question order, and weighting. It is impossible to quantify the errors that may result from these factors. This online sample is not a probability sample.

These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

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About Harris Interactive(R)

Harris Interactive Inc. (http://www.harrisinteractive.com/), the 15th largest and fastest-growing market research firm in the world, is a Rochester, N.Y.-based global research company that blends premier strategic consulting with innovative and efficient methods of investigation, analysis and application. Known for The Harris Poll(R) and for pioneering Internet-based research methods, Harris Interactive conducts proprietary and public research to help its clients achieve clear, material and enduring results.

Harris Interactive combines its intellectual capital, databases and technology to advance market leadership through U.S. offices and wholly owned subsidiaries: London-based HI Europe (http://www.hieurope.com/), Paris-based Novatris (http://www.novatris.com/), Tokyo-based Harris Interactive Japan, through newly acquired WirthlinWorldwide, a Reston, Virginia-based research and consultancy firm ranked 25th largest in the world, and through an independent global network of affiliate market research companies. EOE M/F/D/V

To become a member of the Harris Poll Online(SM) and be invited to participate in future online surveys, visit http://www.harrispollonline.com/ .

Contacts:
Nancy Wong
Harris Interactive
585-214-7316

Kelly Gullo
Harris Interactive
585-214-7172

Source: Harris Interactive

CONTACT: Nancy Wong, +1-585-214-7316, or Kelly Gullo,
+1-585-214-7172, both of Harris Interactive

Web site: http://www.harrisinteractive.com/
http://www.harrispollonline.com/

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