The state of Utah has a split personality as far as supporting local college sports teams goes.
And you don't need a psychiatrist to back that statement up — the results of a recent Dan Jones & Associates poll conducted for the Deseret News and KSL-TV confirm the point quite well on their own.
Seen those ballcaps that are half red, half blue with evenly split BYU and U. of U. logos on it? Well, the goofy-looking lids aptly describe the feelings of sports fans in the area.
When it comes to college football and basketball in this state, local sports fans both rise for and shout at the Cougars from BYU.
Fans in the Beehive State also have a love 'em and — to a smaller degree than with BYU — hate 'em attitude toward the University of Utah athletic department. On the other hand, Utahns are much less passionate — on the whole, at least — for teams from Utah State and Weber State.
And Southern Utah University? Well, the politically correct way to say it is that SUU remains the state's best-kept college athletic secret.
The poll verified that nobody gets the cheers and jeers like BYU. No wonder there are so many cars out there with "My favorite teams are the University of Utah and anybody who plays BYU" bumper stickers on them.
The Cougars — and this is no shocker — won the popularity contest for the state's favorite college football team. That even happened before they dismantled Tulane 70-35 in Gary Crowton's first game as BYU head coach Saturday (the poll was conducted July 10-12).
BYU received 41 percent of the vote for favorite team followed by Ron McBride's outfit on The Hill, which captured a respectable 35 percent of the support. The six-percent point difference — which falls within the poll's plus/minus rating of five percent — might surprise some, considering BYU's longtime national reputation as well as higher attendance figures and TV ratings for the Cougars.
Delving into the demographic makeup of the poll reveals some intriguing findings that support some stereotypes dealing with LDS Church-owned BYU. For instance, members of the LDS faith favor BYU over Utah 56 percent to 24, and it's a 60-23 margin for Republicans in the Cougs' favor.
State-owned Utah has overwhelming support by the Catholics in the area — 77 percent to a measly 4 percent for BYU. Fifty-eight percent of Salt Lake County residents choose Utah, while 30 percent favor the Y. In Utah County, however, the U. only garners 8 percent of the support to 75 percent for the hometown boys in blue and white.
Also revealed is a common bond that Crowton and Rick Majerus share — aside from shiny, bald heads. The Running Utes — three years after their near-national championship season — are easily the state's favorite basketball program.
Utah received 38 percent of the votes compared to only 30 percent for BYU's hoops team.
Steve Cleveland's Cougars — who've gone from the laughingstock of the league to receiving an NCAA tournament berth during his tenure — own the undesirable distinction of being Public Enemy No. 1 on the hardcourt. At 28 percent, BYU was the leader in the least-favorite hoops team category, with Utah coming in second at a distant 16 percent.
More LDS fans cheer for the Ute basketball team compared to football, but BYU still has a 40-32 percent edge. Utah has a huge lead, albeit a smaller one, in hoops with the Catholic contingency as well — 54 percent to 8.
Although nobody would doubt that their hard-core group of fans is any less vociferous than BYU's or Utah's, the folks at Utah State and Weber State were far behind in favorite and least-favorite for both sports.
USU edged Weber 7-4 percent on the gridiron and 8-7 percent in basketball. Fewer people dislike the Aggies, though, by a margin of 5-3 percent in hoops and football. SUU didn't get enough votes to register on either of the favorite polls, but the T-Birds did get 1 percent of the least-favorite lists.
E-mail: jody@desnews.com