HIGH POINT -- A High Point University/News & Record Poll finds that half of North Carolinians may not be following March Madness very closely this year, and a majority of them said that college athletes should be able to sign endorsement deals.

Almost half of North Carolina residents (47%) said they are not at all closely following the NCAA Division I basketball tournament, compared to half (47%) of respondents who said they are following March Madness either extremely closely (14%), very closely (13%) or somewhat closely (20%).

A near majority of these North Carolina respondents (43%) said the media pays about the right amount of attention to the tournament. About a third (32%) of North Carolina residents said the media pays too much attention, and only 7% said the media pays too little attention to March Madness.

Nearly half of North Carolinians (48%) said that student athletes should be able to get paid for the use of their names, images or likenesses. Just over a third (38%) of people in the state said that they should not be paid. A majority (60%) think that college athletes should be able to sign deals to endorse particular products while they are in college, and 40% said they should not be able to endorse products.

“Almost half of North Carolinians responding to our poll are not closely following March Madness this year,” says Brian McDonald, associate director of the HPU Poll and adjunct instructor. “However, most poll respondents do not have a problem with college athletes signing endorsement deals for particular products while they are in college.”

Holding the ACC basketball tournament in Greensboro, North Carolina, this year does not make much difference either way for a majority of the poll respondents. While only 21% said that having the tournament in Greensboro will make them more likely to watch, 65% said that it does not make much difference either way.

Finally, over half (54%) of poll respondents said that colleges and universities that have big-time sports programs place too much emphasis on athletics over academics. About 29% said that they maintain the right balance, and 17% didn’t offer an opinion.