Exclusive: Poll says taxpayer funds shouldn’t go to public college athletic departments

By Jon Styf
The Center Square

American taxpayers are against using tax money to fund public college athletic departments in the era of name, image and likeness payments to athletes, according to a new Overton Insights poll exclusively provided to The Center Square before the poll’s full release Thursday.

Just 19% of voters support using taxpayer funds for college athletics while 56% oppose it while 25% were not sure or didn’t have an opinion.

The poll asked 1,377 registered voters questions between May 16-20.

“There is a real debate in this country about NIL and what its adoption has done to college sports,” said Overton Insights Poll Director Mark Cunningham. “But on the question of whether tax dollars should flow to public university athletic departments, voters have reached a clear consensus against it. This is one of the few issues in our poll where Republicans, Democrats, and independents all land in the same place. A whopping 56% of voters oppose it, while just 19% support it, a level of agreement you rarely see on anything in American politics today.”

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers signed a bill into law this spring that will send nearly $15 million each year to the University of Wisconsin-Madison athletic department from the state’s general tax fund.

North Carolina currently sends $300,000 worth of sports wagering taxes to the athletic departments of 13 public universities in the state but a legislative proposal would have increased that funding for The University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and North Carolina State.

A Louisiana law signed in 2025 increased the states sports wagering tax rate and sends 25% of the state’s sports wagering tax money to college athletic programs.

The Overton Insights poll showed that just 13% or Republicans support sending taxpayer funds to public college athletic departments while 20% of Democrats support the idea along with 23% of independents.

Just 10% of those ages 30 to 44 support the idea and 10% of those with bachelor’s degrees support it.

The highest percentage age category supporting the idea is those ages 18 to 29 with 38% in support and 35% against it.