McLEAN, Va., Jan. 15, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Ohio State's win in the inaugural College Football Playoff National Championship game marks the end to an exciting fall athletics season. Today, Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE: COF), an official NCAA® Corporate Champion and sponsor of the College Football Playoff, has announced the official fall standings for the 2014 – 2015 Capital One Cup, which is awarded each year to the nation's best men's and women's NCAA Division I athletics programs. Along with the award, each athletic program receives a combined $400,000 in scholarships for student-athletes.

Ohio State's eighth national title in football propelled them to a three-way tie atop of the men's standings alongside Virginia and North Dakota State. Virginia took home the NCAA Men's College Cup®, their seventh national soccer title, and North Dakota State won the FCS Championship earning each athletic program 60 points toward the Capital One Cup. On the women's side, Penn State's women's volleyball team helped the program secure the No. 1 spot in the women's Capital One Cup fall standings, after winning their seventh national championship – an NCAA Division I record.

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

Highlights from the fall season include:

• With the first NCAA title win of the 2014-15 fall championship season, Colorado's men's cross country team took home the national title for the second consecutive year.
• With their national championship, Penn State's women's volleyball team holds the record for most national championships of any Division I women's volleyball program with seven wins.
• After a scoreless tie in regulation and overtime, Virginia won the Men's College Cup against UCLA on penalty kicks.
• Florida State's women's soccer team extended their 21-game unbeaten streak all the way to the Women's College Cup final and capped it off with a win against Virginia – the first national championship in the history of its program. 

"In the eyes of many, the first College Football Playoff has been a success because of exciting games and thrilling finishes," said Capital One Cup Advisory Board member Rece Davis. "With Ohio State's win, the Buckeyes tie for the top of the fall standings and are at the center of the college football world. We're looking forward to what the winter and spring seasons have in store as the race for the Capital One Cup continues." 

"After numerous appearances in the Women's College Cup tournament for both teams, the final match between Florida State and Virginia is a great example of how every season offers a new opportunity for athletic programs," said Capital One Cup Advisory Board member Brandi Chastain, a former student-athlete at Santa Clara University. "With new contenders emerging in every sport, the overall race for the Capital One Cup becomes more and more exciting to watch.  While Penn State is off to a great start, they will face strong competition from the other schools, including past Capital One Cup winners Stanford, North Carolina and Florida."

"The fall athletic season was filled with amazing achievements and hotly contested championship match ups," said Marc Mentry, Senior Vice President at Capital One.  "All Division I athletics programs are trying to get out of the gate fast and compete for the ultimate prize of a national championship earning them valuable points toward the Capital One Cup. College sports fans witnessed many firsts during this fall season and if the fall results are a precursor of what's to come, there will be even more exciting moments made in the race for the Capital One Cup in the winter and spring seasons."

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 trophy. 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 $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. In 2014, Capital One became an official sponsor of the Capital One Orange Bowl and the new College Football Playoff.

NCAA is a trademark of 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