Florida Men's Athletics Program Wins Its Second Straight Capital One Cup

MCLEAN, Va., June 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Another dramatic finish and another win for Florida. Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE: COF), an official NCAA^® Corporate Champion, announced today that the University of Florida men's athletics program has won the Capital One Cup.  For the second year in a row, the Gators will be formally honored along with repeat women's Capital One Cup winner, Stanford University, at the ESPY Awards televised by ESPN on July 11, during which the Capital One Cup trophy will be presented along with a combined $400,000 to support student athlete scholarships.

Just like last year, this year's competition came down to the wire. The Florida men entered the spring ranked 18^th in the men's Capital One Cup standings, as North Carolina sat atop the standings after the fall and winter seasons.  But, after winning their first-ever NCAA Division I Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship, the Gators earned 60 points towards the Capital One Cup and vaulted into first place.  Everything came down to the College World Series, as Florida earned a trip to Omaha along with UCLA and Arkansas, also in contention to claim the trophy.  But it was the Gators who secured their second straight Capital One Cup title with a sixth place finish in the final USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Coaches' Baseball Poll. 

In the final standings, Florida (104 points) edged out second place Arizona (90 points), which won the College Word Series, and UCLA (82 points).  Below are the official Capital One Cup final standings for the 2011 – 2012 season, with the top-10 point earners in men's athletics listed.  The complete standings can be found at CapitalOneCup.com/standings or Facebook.com/CapitalOneCup.

UCLA and LSU each pulled off the impressive feat of placing in the top 5 in both the men's and women's final standings, demonstrating the depth of their athletics programs.

"Congratulations to the University of Florida for pulling off a repeat performance in their quest for the Capital One Cup trophy," said Capital One Cup Advisory Board member Barry Larkin, a two-time College World Series participant at the University of Michigan and 2012 inductee into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.  "As a baseball player, it was great to see the title come down to the College World Series, an event that has so many memories for me.  The Gators will benefit from the spotlight that shines on their entire program and the $200,000 for student athletes scholarships that comes from this honor."

"Florida should be proud for coming from behind and claiming their second straight Capital One Cup trophy with an impressive spring season," said Roger Ferguson, Vice President of Advertising and Sponsorships at Capital One.  "Just like last year, the race was extremely tight, with schools like Arizona and UCLA making late charges and exciting their fans about the possibility of winning the Capital One Cup.  But it's the Gators and their fans who have earned the ultimate bragging rights in college sports for the next year."  

"We are honored to win our second consecutive Capital One Cup trophy," said University of Florida Athletics Director Jeremy Foley.  "Our student athletes, coaches and support teams strive for overall excellence and it's a tribute to their efforts that the men's program captured the Capital One Cup and our women's program earned a top-10 finish.  Thank you to Capital One and its affiliated companies for their support of intercollegiate athletics."

The final stretch of the race for the Capital One Cup took place during the spring athletics season with six sports in play to determine the champion.  Highlights from the Capital One Cup during the 2011 – 2012 spring athletics season and final standings include:

• 101 men's programs earned points
• Florida placed in the top 10 across five men's sports including: baseball, basketball, indoor track and field, outdoor track and field and swimming and diving
• In addition to winning the men's Capital One Cup, Florida finished ninth in the final women's standings
• USC won its fourth consecutive men's tennis title
• Loyola-Maryland earned the program's first-ever men's lacrosse title
• Texas won its first men's golf title since 1972, marking its 50th national championship overall in the school's history

This is the second year of the Capital One Cup.  Schools earn points based on their teams' top-10 finishes in NCAA Division I championships and in final official coaches' polls across 19 men's and 20 women's sports as they compete to win the Capital One Cup trophy and a combined $400,000 to fund scholarships for student athletes.

 The Capital One Cup winners will be honored at the ESPY Awards in July.  Last year the University of Florida won the men's Capital One Cup and Stanford University claimed the women's Capital One Cup.  Capital One Cup Advisory Board members include Brandi Chastain, Rece Davis, Jennie Finch, Doug Flutie, Clark Kellogg, Barry Larkin and Lisa Leslie.

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., and ING Bank, fsb, had $216.5 billion in deposits and $294.5 billion in total assets outstanding as of March 31, 2012. Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, Capital One and ING Direct offer a broad spectrum of financial products and services to consumers, small businesses and commercial clients. Capital One, N.A. has approximately 1,000 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