online opt-in
Emerson College Polling
Nexstar Media/Emerson College Polling Sports Survey · Jul 26–28, 2026 · US national
Methodology
- Pollster
- Emerson College Polling academic
- Sponsor
- Nexstar Media
- Commissioned by
- Nexstar Media
- Fielded
- Jul 26–28, 2026
- Population
- adults
- Sample size
- 1,000
- Sample frame
- online opt-in
- Panel
- PureSpectrum; Consensus Strategies
- Mode
- online opt-in panels (PureSpectrum and Consensus Strategies)
- Margin of error
- ±3 percentage points (credibility interval)
- Geography
- US national
Sources
Verification note. Wording, toplines and party breaks read from the Emerson sports survey page. Note: some secondary write-ups attribute these same figures (53/30/18) to a February 2025 Emerson sports survey; the page as fetched on 2026-08-25 dates them July 26-28, 2026. Treat the fielding date as the page's, and check whether an identical earlier wave exists.
Figures below are transcribed from these documents. Where they disagree with the source, the source governs.
Questions asked (2)
trans athletes in Division I college athletics - explicitly collegiate
Which more closely reflects opinion on transgender athletes playing Division I college athletics: [A] they should be allowed to play sports as the gender they identify or [B] they should be allowed to play sports based on their gender assigned at birth?
Based on gender assigned at birth
53%
As the gender they identify
30%
Not sure
18%
Wording notes: explicitly specifies collegiate sport (NCAA Division I) rather than sport in general | uses 'transgender athletes' and 'gender assigned at birth' | explicit 'not sure' option offered - the escape hatch absorbs 18%, far more than Gallup's 5% 'no opinion' | does not restrict the question to women's sports
neutral — symmetric A/B alternatives with an explicit non-response option; the collegiate specification is a measurement choice, not a slant
Subgroup figures (4)
Sportsforced choice
who should regulate transgender-athlete policy (NCAA vs. federal government)
Who should regulate policies on transgender athletes?
The NCAA
40%
The federal government
31%
Neither
14%
Not sure
16%
Wording notes: asks about the locus of authority rather than the policy itself | explicit 'neither' and 'not sure' options
neutral — institutional options presented without argument