Harris Interactive Poll Releases List Of 114 Participants

Terry Bradshaw Among Voters In New Poll

The list of the 114 participants in the Harris Interactive College Football Poll was released yesterday, and includes former players and coaches such as Terry Bradshaw, Lou Holtz, Steve Largent, Anthony Munoz, Rocket Ismail and Boomer Esiason (Harris Poll). In L.A., Chris Dufresne notes the poll members were chosen from among 300 nominations supplied by the 11 major conferences and independents, with each league getting ten voters. Among independents, Notre Dame was allotted three votes, and Army and Navy combined for one. AP Dir of Sports Data Darrell Christian said that the AP “lost a handful of voters to the new Harris Poll in part because ... [it] would not allow writers to vote in both polls.” New Orleans Times-Picayune sports writer Ted Lewis “switched to Harris because he considered it more balanced.” Lewis: “It’s a mixture of writers, coaches and administrators. There are more people (114 to the 65 voters in the AP). You’re less of a factor.” But other writers, such as the Seattle Times’ Bud Withers, “declined an invitation to serve on the Harris poll.” Withers: “They wouldn’t tell me the makeup of the poll, who else was on it” (L.A. TIMES, 8/23).

RECOUNT: In Charlotte, Ken Tysiac writes the voters are “hardly above reproach.” One of the voters, Memphis-based talk-radio host George Lapides, promotes an online gambling company with an ad and a link on his personal Web site. Cleveland-based talk-radio host Kenny Roda’s Web site features “photos of Playmates (fortunately, they’re clothed) and a list of tasteless ‘pick-up lines to bag a hottie.’” Tysiac notes, “The bias police will be carefully watching the votes of Purdue radio play-by-play man Joe McConnell.” Bob Burda, spokesperson for BCS Coordinator and Big 12 Commissioner Kevin Weiberg, said “there was no background check” during the selection process for Harris voters. Burda added that issues raised will be “brought to Harris Interactive’s attention now that BCS officials have been made aware of them” (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 8/23).

REAX: In Atlanta, Tony Barnhart writes, “If star power’s your thing, the [Harris Poll] certainly has it.” But for “every high-profile name ... there’s an entry that could make fans scratch their heads” (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 8/23). In Dallas, Tim Cowlishaw writes if Bradshaw, an NFL analyst for Fox, has time to watch 10-12 hours of college football every Saturday, “he’s obviously skipping production meetings and not preparing the way a seven-figure talent should for ‘Fox NFL Sunday’” (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 8/23).