Survey reveals approval ratings of various prominent campus figures

 

Over the course of several weeks from September 9 to September 21, the Irish RoverSports Section conducted a survey designed to gauge the approval ratings of 8 figures on campus and the decision to abolish the physical education department.  The poll received over thirty responses during the fortnight period.

By far, the figure with the highest approval rating was Head Women’s Basketball Coach Muffet McGraw.  McGraw received a 92 percent approval number, with the remaining eight percent registering as Don’t Know/No Opinion.  McGraw has led the Lady Irish to four straight appearances in the NCAA Tournament Final Four and is on pace to achieve her 700th win at Notre Dame over the course of the next two seasons.

Almost the opposite was true for support of the decision to abolish the physical education department.  An overwhelming 86 percent of respondents did not approve of the decision announced by the administration at the end of last year to abolish the physical education department at Notre Dame.  Only 11 percent favored the decision, with three percent undecided.

Brian Kelly saw his approval rating drop six points from 87 percent in our last poll to 81 percent.  Since the previous poll, news broke concerning several players being suspended due to academic fraud.  The Fighting Irish football team is nevertheless off to a 3-0 start for the season.

Kelly still remains one of the most popular figures at Notre Dame, besting University President Father John Jenkins, CSC, and Vice President for Student Affairs Erin Hoffman Harding by sizable margins.  Fr. Jenkins received a 61 percent approval rating, with 31 percent dissenting.

Hoffman Harding did not fare so well. Only 22 percent of respondents approve of the job she is doing as head of the Division of Student Affairs at the University of Notre Dame.  Forty-two percent disapprove of her job performance thus far, the highest disapproval rating of any individual on the survey.  Student Affairs has received significant criticism from the student body of late over changes to the Frosh-O process undertaken prior to this academic year.

Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick received an approval rating similar to that of Fr. Jenkins with 61 percent approving of the work he has done leading the athletic department at Notre Dame.  Only 11 percent of respondents disapproved of Swarbrick’s performance.  Swarbrick has presided over the Campus Crossroads Project, which plans to expand Notre Dame Stadium as well as add new basketball practice facilities on campus.  His tenure has also been witness to great success, both on and off the field, in the football team’s Shamrock Series.

Head Men’s Basketball Coach Mike Brey received mixed reviews.  His approval rating was slightly underwater, 33 percent approval to 39 percent disapproval, but 28 percent of respondents were on the fence regarding Brey.  To be sure, Mike Brey’s tenure at Notre Dame has been tumultuous, with the Irish registering 20-win seasons on a regular basis only to lose in the opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament.  Things are looking up for the Irish this season, though, with the return of the previously suspended Jerian Grant adding a much needed offensive presence to the team.

Jeff Jackson, the Head Coach of the Fighting Irish Hockey, was a largely unknown quantity.  He netted a 47 percent approval rating, but 31 percent of respondents answered Don’t Know/No Opinion.  Coach Jackson has led the Fighting Irish to two appearances in the Frozen Four and the team is coming off its inaugural season in the Hockey East Conference.

The Leprechaun Legion, the representatives of the Fighting Irish Student Section, did slightly worse than Coach Jackson.  The Legion notched a 44 percent approval rating with a 33 percent disapproval rating, worsted in this respect only by Erin Hoffman Harding and Mike Brey.

 

John McMackin is a junior history and theology major. He enjoys reading G.K. Chesterton in addition to watching his CBS scorecenter app update. Contact him at jmcmack1@nd.edu.