University of Virginia Men's Athletics Program Wins Its First Capital One Cup Trophy

MCLEAN, Va., June 29, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Following a valiant win in the NCAA Men's College World Series, the University of Virginia's athletics department claimed this year's coveted 2014-2015 men's Capital One Cup; the first time in program history. The Capital One Cup is awarded annually to the best men's and women's NCAA Division I college athletics programs for their cumulative on-field performance across multiple men's and women's sports.  In recognition of this accomplishment, the Virginia men's sports program will join the women of Stanford University to receive a combined $400,000 toward student-athlete scholarships and be recognized at The ESPYS on July 15.

The Cavaliers kicked off the season by capturing their seventh national title in men's soccer, propelling them to No. 1 in the fall Capital One Cup standings, alongside North Dakota State and Ohio State. During the winter season Virginia earned points in men's basketball but slid to No. 2 in the overall standings, just behind Ohio State. In the spring, Virginia's big championship in men's tennis, along with their first national baseball championship, powered them to the top position – overcoming Oregon and Ohio State to earn its first-ever Capital One Cup trophy with a total of 149 points.

"This is a proud moment for the University of Virginia, as our student-athletes, coaches, staff, donors and fans all played an important role to help bring home the Capital One Cup trophy," said University of Virginia Athletics Director Craig Littlepage. "The award illustrates the success many of our programs achieved this year as we pursue our 10-year goals. It's fitting in the year we announced our All In For Excellence initiative that we won this competition with the help of so many supporters. On behalf of the University of Virginia, we would like to thank Capital One for its enduring commitment to college athletics."  

Competition for the Capital One Cup

In its fifth year, the race for the Capital One Cup was a compelling competition until the end. 

• Oregon finished second, 28 points behind Virginia, by winning NCAA championships in both men's indoor and outdoor track & field and top-10 finishes in football and men's cross country.
• Ohio State's national championships in football and wrestling and its top-10 finishes in men's volleyball, rifle, lacrosse, gymnastics and fencing led to the program's third place finish with 93.5 points.
• Rounding out the top-10 are Florida (4), Denver (5), Duke (6), TCU (7), LSU (8), Notre Dame (tied-9) and UCLA (tied-9).

Below are the official Capital One Cup men's final standings for the 2014-2015 season, with the top-10 point earners in men's Division I athletics listed.

"Baseball is the last sport of the collegiate season to earn points toward the Capital One Cup, and the race always comes down to the very end.  Congratulations to Virginia on a tremendous season that led to this exciting honor," said Dave Winfield, Capital One Cup Ambassador, 1973 College World Series MVP, College and National Baseball Hall of Fame inductee and former University of Minnesota student-athlete. "As a former student-athlete I'm committed to aligning myself with programs focused on educating and empowering students on and off the field.  It's inspiring to see the support Capital One dedicates to college athletics through programs like the Capital One Cup."

"We commend the Virginia athletics department for their first-ever men's Capital One Cup win.  They stayed close to the top of the standings all year, and repeatedly proved their resilience to earn points in soccer, basketball and tennis in addition to their thrilling baseball championship to cap off the season," said Marc Mentry, Senior Vice President at Capital One. "We look forward to celebrating the Cavalier men alongside the women's Capital One Cup winner, Stanford University, at The ESPYS in July."

Highlights from the Capital One Cup during the 2014-2015 men's athletics season include:

From the spring season:

• LSU wins the men's golf national championship to break its 60-year title drought
• Denver men's lacrosse team makes history by capturing the 2015 title with its 10-5 victory against Maryland
• Loyola Chicago men's volleyball team defends title, capturing second consecutive national championship over the top-seeded Lewis
• Virginia defeats No. 1 Oklahoma 4-1 to secure its second NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championship in three years  
• Oregon earns its second consecutive NCAA outdoor track & field title after getting off to a fast start on day one of the championships

From the fall and winter seasons:

• After a scoreless tie in regulation and overtime, Virginia won the Men's College Cup against UCLA on penalty kicks
• Ohio State shocked Oregon in the College Football Playoff National Championship game securing its eighth national title
• Duke Blue Devils best Wisconsin 68-63 to win fifth national basketball title in school history
• Ohio State's wrestling team captured first-ever team title in 94-year history
• Combined, 106 schools earned points in the Capital One Cup men's standings

About the Capital One Cup

Schools earn points based on their teams' top-10 finishes in NCAA Division I championships and in final official coaches' polls across 19 men's and 20 women's sports as they compete to win the Capital One Cup trophy and a combined $400,000 in scholarships for student-athletes. Stanford University athletics program captured this year's Capital One Cup for the women.

To view the complete men's and women's standings, please visit www.CapitalOneCup.com. Fans can join in on the conversation at Facebook.com/CapitalOne and Twitter.com/CapitalOne.

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 and CWS are trademarks owned or licensed by the National Collegiate Athletic Association.  All other licenses or trademarks are property of their respective holders.

Contact: Alli Sherman, 571-279-5254 
[email protected]  

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SOURCE Capital One

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