MCLEAN, Va., Jan. 1, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- A battle of the undefeated can only yield one winner and Auburn's Aubie the Tiger earned his champion stripes by clawing his way past UCLA'sJoe Bruin in the 2014 Capital One Mascot Challenge finale. As the newly crowned Capital One National Mascot of the Year®, Aubie will receive $20,000 toward Auburn's mascot program and legendary status as one of the rare mascots to finish the competition with a perfect 15-0 record.
Aubie opened the challenge at No. 4 in Phil Steele's pre-season power rankings. Steele is one of the industry's most precise football prognosticators. By week four of the regular season, Aubie was a clear frontrunner for the championship round, beating his foes with ease, and by week nine, had moved into Steele's No. 1 ranking where he would remain for the duration of the Mascot Challenge.
"This is Aubie's seventh year in the Capital One Mascot Challenge and we were determined to bring home the title for the first time," said Aubie Advisor, Michael Reynolds. "We would like to send a special thank you to the faculty and students of Auburn University, as well as the entire Auburn family! #CapitalOneAubie became a mantra on campus, and it was extremely humbling to see the outpouring of support from Auburn students and fans. Aubie was up against some incredible competition, and it's only through the dedication and creativity of our fans that he can call himself the 2014 Capital One National Mascot of the Year."
This year's voting structure provided fans three ways to vote for their beloved mascot. By visiting www.CapitalOneMascots.com and clicking "vote now," fans earned one (1) point for their favorite mascot. To go even further, fans completed weekly 50-point and/or 100-point challenges by posting clever content on Twitter, Facebook and/or Instagram using their mascot's unique hashtag. Voting launched Monday, August 25, 2014, and closed Sunday, December 7, 2014. Fans can watch Aubie's national TV winner announcement at www.youtube/user/capitalone.com. Additionally, fans can congratulate Aubie and join in on the conversation at www.Facebook.com/CapitalOne and www.Twitter.com/CapitalOne.
"Every year I am amazed at the unrelenting fan support and millions of votes flooding CapitalOneMascots.com and social media sites in support of the 16 competing mascots," said Marc Mentry, Senior Vice President at Capital One. "You couldn't have asked for a better championship bout with two undefeated schools from rival conferences, the SEC and PAC-12, and diehard fans that saw it through to the end."
The complete 2014 All-America Capital One Mascot Team® included:
- Aubie the Tiger of Auburn University – 2014 Winner
- Benny Beaver of Oregon State University
- Big Red of University of Arkansas – Rookie
- Big Red of Western Kentucky University
- Brutus Buckeye of Ohio State University
- Buster Bronco of Boise State University
- Buzz of Georgia Tech – 2013 Write-In Vote Winner
- Cocky of University of South Carolina – 2003 Winner
- Cy of Iowa State University – 2008 Winner
- Goldy Gopher of University of Minnesota
- Joe Bruin of UCLA – 2014 Runner-Up
- Otto the Orange of Syracuse University
- Sparty of Michigan State University
- Spike of The Citadel – Rookie
- Wilma T. Wildcat of The University of Arizona
- Zippy of The University of Akron – 2007 Winner
Throughout the competition, fans also had the chance to participate in a "write-in" vote at www.CapitalOneMascots.com to determine which mascot would receive an invitation to join the 2015 Capital One Mascot Challenge team roster. This year's write-in vote winner is Lobo Louie, from The University of New Mexico.
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 $204.3 billion in deposits and $300.2 billion in total assets as of September 30, 2014. 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 approximately 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 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. This year, Capital One begins its title sponsorship of the Capital One Orange Bowl and becomes an official College Football Championship and Playoff partner.
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
571-835-7167
Chris.ONeill@capitalone.com
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SOURCE Capital One Financial Corporation
