Poll Says 24% in U.S. Think Points Shaved in College Basketball

Almost a one-fourth of Americans
surveyed believe college basketball game participants shave points to meet
gambling lines, according to the Elizabeth Seton Hallway Sports Poll.

The opinion poll also establish that less than a 3rd -- 31 per centum --
of the 378 people questioned said colleges topographic point high importance
on participants graduating, and twice that percentage feel schools
break regulations in recruiting athletes.

The telephone set study was taken by the South Orange, New
Jersey-based university on March 17-19, just before the start of
the National Collegiate Athletic Association's national
basketball tournament. The title game is April 7.

''The NCAA is not getting the right message out to the
public,'' , the poll's director, said in a news
release. ''These are not percents that reflect where they
would wish public perceptual experience to be.''

On the gaming question, 24 per centum answered ''yes'' when
asked: ''Do you believe that college basketball game players
intentionally act upon the result of games because of gambling
interests, or not?''

Seton Hallway said the opinion poll was weighted to reflect the
national statistical distribution of age, race and gender, and had a
statistical border of mistake of asset or subtraction 5.2 percentage
points.

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