MCLEAN, Va., Jan 13, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE:COF) announced today the official fall standings for the Capital One Cup, a new program rewarding NCAA Division I athletics programs for their cumulative on-field performance across multiple men's and women's sports.

Boosted by national championships in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), respectively, Auburn and Eastern Washington are tied for the lead in the men's standings, while Penn State, which won the volleyball national championship, is out front in the women's standings.

Below are the official Capital One Cup standings for the 2010 - 2011 fall athletics seasons, with only the Top 10 point earners in men's and women's Division athletics listed. The complete standings can be found at CapitalOneCup.com/standings or Facebook.com/CapitalOneCup.

Auburn earned 60 points in the Capital One Cup for its victory over Oregon in the BCS national championship game, while Eastern Washington garnered 60 points for its win over Delaware in the FCS title game. That gives the Tigers' and Eagles' men's athletics programs each a 20-point lead over third-place Akron, which won the soccer national championship. The rest of the men's Top 5 includes Delaware (36), which finished 2^nd in the final FCS coaches' poll, tied for fourth place with TCU (36), which finished 2^nd in the final FBS coaches' poll after its victory over Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl.

The Penn State volleyball team claimed a fourth-straight NCAA national championship to garner 60 points in the women's standings, giving its athletics program an 18-point lead over second place Stanford, which finished 2^nd in the final NSCAA soccer coaches' poll and 5^th in the final AVCA volleyball coaches' poll. Rounding out the Top 5 in the women's standings are Notre Dame (40), which won the NCAA national championship in soccer over Stanford, Cal (36), which finished 2^nd in the final AVCA volleyball coaches' poll, and USC (30), which finished 3^rd in the final AVCA volleyball coaches' poll.

"The competition for the Capital One Cup is in full swing and there are a wide variety of schools in contention for the trophy," said Capital One Cup Advisory Board Member and former Boston College quarterback Doug Flutie. "Athletics programs that claimed national championships in the fall are leading the way in the standings, symbolizing the high performance level that will need to be sustained to claim the Capital One Cup."

Here are some notes on the Capital One Cup fall standings:

• Fifty-nine schools have earned points in either the men's or women's standings
• The Big Ten and the Colonial Athletic Association lead the men's standings with four schools each that earned points; the Big East leads the women's standings with seven schools that earned points
• Six men's athletics programs scored points in two sports; seven women's athletics programs scored points in two sports

"It's been great to watch the added intensity on the field this fall as teams and student-athletes realize the broader implications their achievements will have on their athletics programs and schools," said former Santa Clara All-American soccer player Brandi Chastain. "With eight Capital One Cup men's and women's sports in play during the winter season, the quest for the ultimate bragging rights in collegiate athletics will get even more intense."

The fall season for the Capital One Cup, which launched in September, featured seven of the 26 total sports in action competing to earn points in the first official standings announcement. The Capital One Cup men's fall sports included football, soccer and cross country, while the women's fall sports included volleyball, soccer, field hockey and cross country. Schools earn points based on their teams' Top 10 finishes in NCAA Division I championships and in final official coaches' polls across the 13 men's and 13 women's sports.

Division I men's and women's athletics programs are competing to win the Capital One Cup trophy and $200,000 to fund graduate scholarships for student-athletes. One men's and one women's Capital One Cup winner will be determined at the end of the spring season and honored at the ESPY Awards in July, to be televised live by ESPN.

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 $119.2 billion in deposits and $196.9 billion in total assets outstanding as of September 30, 2010. Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, Capital One offers 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, all 88 NCAA Championships including the Division I Men's and Women's Basketball Championships, and numerous other collegiate athletics programs.

SOURCE: Capital One Financial Corporation

Capital One Financial Corporation
Sukhi Sahni, 703-720-2390
sukhi.sahni@capitalone.com