Ohio State, Stanford Lead the Capital One Cup Winter Standings

MCLEAN, Va., April 29, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The quest for the 2014 – 2015 Capital One Cup heats up as the  NCAA^® spring season hits its stride in college sports. Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE: COF), an official NCAA Corporate Champion, announced the winter standings for the Capital One Cup, which is awarded to the best men's and best women's Division I athletics programs in the country. Only 13 championships remain before two winners are crowned as the best in college sports and awarded the Capital One Cup trophy and a combined $400,000 in student-athlete scholarships at the 2015 ESPYS.

On the strength of two national championships in football and wrestling, along with top 10 finishes in fencing, rifle and gymnastics, Ohio State has increased its lead in the men's standings by 16.5 points. Since the inception of the Capital One Cup, this is the first time Ohio State has held the No. 1 position following the winter season – a strong finish in the spring could lead to new hardware for the Buckeyes. Virginia holds strong at second, while Duke shot up to No. 3 after a thrilling run to a national championship in basketball. On the women's side, Stanford moves into the No. 1 position as a result of top 10 finishes in swimming and diving, fencing and indoor track and field, overtaking Penn State, which led after the fall standings.

Below are the official Capital One Cup standings for the 2014 – 2015 winter athletics season with the top 10 point earners (including ties) in men's and women's athletics listed. The complete winter standings can be found at www.CapitalOneCup.com.

"As a former student-athlete and an avid college sports fan, I enjoy following the race for the Capital One Cup," said Capital One Cup Advisory Board member and CBS college basketball analyst Clark Kellogg. "From the moment football kicks off in August to the College World Series in June, it's exciting to watch the shifts in the standings. I'm particularly proud to see my alma mater, The Ohio State Buckeyes in the lead following the winter season, but it's any school's race as we enter the spring season with more points up for grabs." 

"Connecticut's three-peat in Tampa at the Women's Final Four now puts them in a class of their own with 10 overall titles for the program," said Capital One Cup Advisory Board member and Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Lisa Leslie. "It's great to see teams develop year after year, but also get challenged by newcomers to the national stage – we saw that with South Carolina in women's basketball this year. I'm excited to see how the race for the Capital One Cup shapes up, and I look forward to meeting and honoring the winners at the ESPYS."

Highlights from the winter season include:

• Duke Blue Devils best Wisconsin 68-63 to win fifth national basketball title in school history
• Connecticut tops Notre Dame to win third consecutive title and 10^th overall for the women's basketball program
• Ohio State's wrestling team capture first-ever team title in 94-year history
• Providence holds off Boston University to claim program's first national title in men's ice hockey
• Minnesota wins the 2015 NCAA women's ice hockey championship, fifth in program's history, with a 4-1 victory over Harvard
• The Cal Bears women's swimming and diving team capture fourth NCAA National Championship since 2009
• Texas men's swimming and diving team remain unstoppable as they capture 11th NCAA championship
• Columbia claims 14th NCAA National Championship in the 2015 combined men's and women's fencing finals
• Oklahoma wins ninth men's gymnastics championship to close out perfect 26-0 season
• Nebraska's women's bowling team earn fifth NCAA title, defeating Stephen F. Austin 4-2

"This year's race for the Capital One Cup, like every year, is unpredictable" said Marc Mentry, Senior Vice President at Capital One. "While Ohio State is in a good spot right now, there are more championships to be played and, as in year's past, it could all come down to the winner of the College World Series. For the women, Stanford is making its case to be the only women's program to win its third Capital One Cup, but anything can happen in these next two months."

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 ESPYS in July.  Last year, the University of Notre Dame's men's athletic program and the University of Florida's women's athletic program took home the winning trophies. This is the fifth year of the Capital One Cup. 

Please visit www.CapitalOneCup.com, www.Facebook.com/CapitalOne and www.Twitter.com/CapitalOne 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 $210.4 billion in deposits and $306.2 billion in total assets as of March 31, 2015. 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 branches located 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 Capital One Bowl (formerly the Florida Citrus Bowl) in 2001. Since that time, Capital One has sponsored programs including the Capital One Mascot Challenge and Capital One Academic All-America Program. In 2010, it created the Capital One Cup to recognize the best men's and women's Division 1 College Athletics Programs in the country and awards a combined $400,000 in student-athlete scholarships. As an NCAA Corporate Champion, Capital One supports all 89 NCAA Championships. In 2014, Capital One became an official sponsor of the Capital One Orange Bowl and the new College Football Playoff.

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

Contact: Chris O'Neill
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SOURCE Capital One Financial Corporation

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