College Sports Unveils New Award

Both Men's and Women's Division I programs will be given the opportunity to compete for the Capital One Cup and a $200,000 scholarship to fund graduate-level scholarships for student-athletes.

With the start of the College Football season a little more than 24 hours away, 1984 Heisman Trophy winner Doug Flutie, CBS men’s college basketball broadcaster and 1982 Big Ten MVP Clark Kellogg, 1988 Golden Spikes award winner Robin Ventura, Brandi Chastain and 1994 NCAA Women's National Player of the Year Lisa Leslie gathered at the Times Center in New York City for the announcement of a "premier program"  that will define the ultimate champion in college sports.

This monumental announcement was made by Capital One Chief Marketing Officer, Bill McDonald, who ecstatically described the award as a prestigious new program rewarding NCAA Division I athletic programs "for their cumulative on-field excellence in thirteen sports."

Starting this academic year, NCAA Division I men's and women's athletics programs will begin competing for the prestigious  Capital One Cup, as this trophy will symbolize, "a year-long quest to claim the ultimate bragging rights in collegiate sports."

The Capital One Cup will be served by an advisory board of prominent former NCAA student-athletes and current broadcasters: Flutie, Chastain, Leslie, Ventura and broadcasters Rece Davis and Kellogg.

In the yearly race for the Capital One Cup, schools will earn points based on their teams' top 10 finishes in NCAA Division I championships and in final official coaches' polls in 13 men's and 13 women's sports throughout the year.

The official Capital One Cup standings will be released at the end of the fall, winter and spring athletics seasons, with a premium on winning National Championship titles.   

At the end of the College sports season, the two athletics programs in both men and women's sports, with the highest aggregated point totals will be announced as the Capital One Cup winners. Points will be earned by NCAA Division I athletics programs based on their teams' performance in the following sports:

Tier 1 Men	Tier 2 Men	Tier 3 Men
Football (FBS) Basketball Baseball	Soccer Swimming & Diving Outdoor Track & Field Lacrosse	Cross Country Wrestling Ice Hockey Indoor Track & Field Golf Tennis
Tier 1 Women	Tier 2 Women	Tier 3 Women
Volleyball Basketball Softball	Soccer Swimming & Diving Outdoor Track & Field Lacrosse	Cross Country Field Hockey Indoor Track & Field Golf Tennis Rowing

Throughout the year fans can follow the official standings, announcements and news updates about the Capital One Cup at www.capitalonecup.com

Although the Capital One Cup took roughly 15 months to create, the positive effect this will have on College sports will last a lifetime. And college students will have the Capital One Cup to thank for that.