TUSCALOOSA, Ala., Oct 20, 2003 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Freshmen athletes at the University of Alabama are getting an introduction to the basics of personal financial management this year, thanks to the Athletics Department and Capital One. The university will participate in Capital One's college financial education program, Getting Money Wi$e in College. Freshmen Tide athletes will undergo an interactive training curriculum focusing on basic budgeting, credit, and financial responsibility skills. The program is established through the University's Life Skills program.

"The University of Alabama's Life Skills program is a great way to inform students about basic money management, and help them start off on the right foot with their personal finances," said Diana Don, Director of Financial Education at Capital One. "Capital One's goal is to empower college students to use the training as the basis for sound financial habits."

Through its Getting Money Wi$e in College program, Capital One is providing students with training on the Practical Money Skills for Life curriculum. The curriculum touches on the financial challenges young adults face during the college years and educates them about the fundamental aspects of credit and budget management. As a supplement to the program, Capital One has designed and tailored a web page where University of Alabama students can access more information about basic money management. The web site provides an overview of the program, links to the Capital One Visa Practical Money Skills curriculum, additional resources such as loan calculators, and information on related topics, including identity theft. It can be viewed at http://www.rolltide.com/Champs%20Life%20Skills/4430.asp.

"Personal financial management is an important life skill, and we see a real need for more education on this topic among freshman college students, including our athletes," said Karin Lee, Director of Life Skills and Community Outreach for the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics at the University of Alabama. "We were glad to hear about Capital One's program, and are eager to participate and make it a success for our athletes."

Capital One also sponsors financial education programs at Washington State University, the University of South Florida and the University of Maryland. Capital One has partnered with Visa to provide its Practical Money Skills for Life curriculum and educational materials to the University's program. Practical Money Skills for Life covers Making Decisions, Budgeting, Banking Services, Living on One's Own, Understanding Credit and Credit Cards, and Saving. The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA), and the National Orientation Directors Association (NODA) have endorsed the curriculum.

About Visa

Visa is the world's leading payment brand and largest consumer payment system, enabling banks to provide their consumer and merchant customers with a wide variety of payment alternatives. More than 14,000 U.S. financial institutions rely on Visa's processing system, VisaNet, to facilitate over $915 billion in annual transaction volume -- including roughly half of all Internet payments -- with virtually 100 percent reliability. U.S. consumers carry 376 million Visa-branded smart, credit, commercial, prepaid and check cards, accepted at approximately 25 million locations worldwide. Visa's people, partnerships, brand, payment technology and security standards are helping to create universal commerce -- the ability to safely conduct transactions anytime, anywhere, anyway. For more information about Visa, please visit www.visa.com.

About Capital One

Headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, Capital One Financial Corporation (www.capitalone.com) is a holding company whose principal subsidiaries, Capital One Bank and Capital One, F.S.B., offer consumer lending products. Capital One's subsidiaries collectively had 48.6 million accounts and $53.2 billion in managed loans outstanding as of June 30, 2002. Capital One, a Fortune 500 company, is one of the largest providers of MasterCard and Visa credit cards in the world. Capital One trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "COF" and is included in the S&P 500 index.

SOURCE Capital One Financial Corporation