Capital One Cup Standings Released Following Thrilling BCS National Championship Game

MCLEAN, Va., Jan. 8, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The game-winning 80-yard touchdown drive by Florida State in the final minute of the final BCS National Championship Game was the perfect ending to an exciting 2013-2014 NCAA® Division I fall athletics season filled with other last-second heroics and championship performances.  Today, Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE: COF), an official NCAA Corporate Champion, has announced the official fall standings for the Capital One Cup, which is awarded each year to the best men's and women's NCAA Division I athletics programs in the country. Following its exciting win over Auburn in the BCS National Championships game Monday night, Florida State shares the top spot on the men's standings with North Dakota State and Notre Dame. North Dakota State won the FCS championship and Notre Dame secured the NCAA Men's College Cup® earning them each 60 points and a three-way tie for the No. 1 spot on the men's side. Michigan State's win at the Rose Bowl helped propel it to number No. 4  in the rankings. As for the women, Penn State took charge of the standings after winning the NCAA volleyball championship and securing a top-10 finish in field hockey. UCLA sits close behind at No. 2.

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Below are the official Capital One Cup standings for the 2013-2014 fall athletics season, with the top 10 point earners (including ties) in men's and women's athletics listed. The complete standings can be found at www.CapitalOneCup.com or Facebook.com/CapitalOneCup.

Highlights from the fall season include:

• UCLA women's athletics program defeated Florida State in overtime to claim its first-ever NCAA soccer championship and the school's 110^th NCAA championship.
• Providence's Lady Friars captured their first NCAA cross country championship since 1995.
• USC men's water polo team claimed its sixth-consecutive championship after defeating Pacific in the final match.
• Notre Dame won its first-ever NCAA Men's College Cup after claiming a 2-1 victory over Maryland in the championship soccer game.
• The Penn State women's volleyball team captured its sixth national championship – its fifth title in seven years –tying Stanford for the most-ever women's volleyball championships.
• Florida State defeated Auburn in the final BCS national championship game to earn the school's third national college football title.
• Women's fall NCAA championship winners were Providence (Cross Country), Connecticut (Field Hockey), UCLA (Soccer) and Penn State (Volleyball).
• Men's fall NCAA championship winners included Colorado (Cross Country), USC (Water Polo), Notre Dame (Soccer), North Dakota State (Football-FCS) and Florida State (Football-FBS).
• Forty-six (46) schools earned points in the Capital One Cup men's standings and 38 schools earned points in the women's standings.

"Major upsets and emerging powerhouses have made this college football season exciting to watch as the race for the Capital One Cup has gotten off to a thrilling start," said Capital One Cup Advisory Board member and college football analyst, Rece Davis. "Florida State, North Dakota State and Notre Dame have risen to the top and I'm looking forward to seeing what programs join the rankings and challenge them for the Cup."

"Strong performances were showcased by student-athletes on the soccer field this season and UCLA's hard-charging win over Florida State in overtime is an example of just that," said Capital One Cup Advisory Board member, Brandi Chastain, a former student-athlete at Santa Clara University. "The Bruins outscored three No. 1 seeds en route to the Women's College Cup and took home their first-ever soccer championship as a result.  With the heart and determination already shown by women's athletics programs this season, I'm excited to follow the remaining NCAA championships and the race for the Capital One Cup."

"The start to the 2013-14 college sports season has not only been competitive but athletics programs that we have not traditionally seen in the top 10 of the fall standings have asserted themselves as challengers for the Cup," said Marc Mentry, Senior Vice President at Capital One.  "However, if last year's season is any indication of how exciting the race for the Capital One Cup is, then the winter and spring athletics seasons will surely produce some great outcomes and additional contenders for the ultimate bragging rights in college sports."

Schools earn points based on their teams' top 10 finishes in NCAA Division I championships and in final official coaches' polls across 20 women's and 19 men's sports as they compete to win the Capital One Cup trophy and a combined $400,000 in scholarships for student-athletes. The Capital One Cup winners will be determined at the end of the spring season and honored at the ESPY Awards in July.  Last year, new winners emerged when UCLA won on the men's side and North Carolina claimed the women's Cup after the Stanford women and Florida men earned the Capital One Cup the previous two years. This is the fourth year of the Capital One Cup. 

Please visit CapitalOneCup.com, Facebook.com/CapitalOneCup and Twitter.com/CapitalOneCup for more information and news on the Capital One Cup as well as updates on the standings.

About Capital One
Capital One Financial Corporation (www.capitalone.com) is a financial holding company whose subsidiaries, which include Capital One, N.A., and Capital One Bank (USA), N. A., had $206.9 billion in deposits and $289.9 billion in total assets as of September 30, 2013. Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, Capital One offers a broad spectrum of financial products and services to consumers, small businesses and commercial clients through a variety of channels. Capital One, N.A. has more than 900 branch locations primarily in New York, New Jersey, Texas, Louisiana, Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia. A Fortune 500 company, Capital One trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "COF" and is included in the S&P 100 index.

Capital One, an NCAA Corporate Champion, began its affiliation with college sports with the sponsorship of the 2001 Capital One Florida Citrus Bowl (now the Capital One Bowl) and ESPN's Capital One Bowl Week. In addition, Capital One sponsors the ABC College Football Halftime Report, Capital One All-America Mascot team, Capital One Academic All-America Program, and supports all 89 NCAA Championships including the Division I Men's and Women's Basketball Championships, and numerous other collegiate athletics programs.

^{NCAA is a trademark owned or licensed by the National Collegiate Athletic Association.  All other licenses or trademarks are property of their respective holders.}

Contact: Chris O'Neill, 804-284-5443
[email protected]

SOURCE Capital One