MCLEAN, Va., June 23, 2011 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ --

Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE: COF), an official NCAA® Corporate Champion, today announced that Stanford University women's athletics program is the winner of the inaugural Capital One Cup. The school will be formally honored at the ESPY Awards televised by ESPN on July 13, during which the Capital One Cup trophy will be presented with a $200,000 donation to fund student-athlete graduate-level scholarships. Launched in 2010, the Capital One Cup honors NCAA Division I athletics programs for their cumulative on-field performance across multiple men's and women's sports.

"Our university is very proud of our athletics program and we are pleased that our women's sports have achieved first place in the Capital One Cup," said Stanford Director of Athletics Bob Bowlsby. "On behalf of our coaches and student-athletes we are pleased to accept this award. Thank you to Capital One and its affiliated companies for their support of collegiate athletics."

Highlighted by second-place finishes in soccer, tennis and rowing, the Cardinal women's athletics program earned a total of 121 points in the race for the Capital One Cup to hold off runner-up Texas A&M University, which charged up the standings this spring to finish nine points behind. The competition literally went down to the wire. The Aggies earned 40 points for their first-place finish at the track and field championships, the final NCAA Division I women's championship of the season, while the Cardinal finished tied for 8th and earned six points.

"We'd like to congratulate Stanford University for winning the inaugural Capital One Cup," said Capital One Chief Marketing Officer, Bill McDonald. "The competition was fierce and all the teams fought until the very end, but the Stanford Cardinal prevailed through their excellence and consistency, earning six Top 5 finishes and scoring points in nine of the 13 sports represented in the Capital One Cup. Stanford's performance this season is the true embodiment of what the Capital One Cup stands for and they have set the bar high for future Capital One Cup winners."

Stanford showed consistency in a variety of sports by earning points in soccer, volleyball, basketball, swimming and diving, lacrosse, softball, rowing, tennis and outdoor track and field. Texas A&M earned 112 cumulative points across the fall, winter and spring seasons as a result of national championships in basketball and outdoor track and field, and points in golf, indoor track and field and swimming. Rounding out the Top 5 in the final women's Capital One Cup standings are the University of California, the University of Florida and the University of Notre Dame.

The final stretch of the race for the Capital One Cup took place during the spring athletics season with six sports in play to determine the champion. Highlights from the Capital One Cup during the 2010 - 2011 athletics season include:

• Sixty-four women's programs earned points
• Stanford placed in the Top 10 in nine championships, including soccer, volleyball, basketball, swimming and diving, lacrosse, tennis, softball, outdoor track and field and rowing, the most Top 10 finishes of any program
• Texas A&M is the only school to win more than two national championships in the 13 sports represented in the Capital One Cup

Below are the official women's Capital One Cup final standings for the 2010 - 2011 athletics season, with only the Top 11 point earners in women's Division I athletics listed.

"The Stanford women and everyone who follows the athletics program should be proud of this accomplishment," said Capital One Cup Advisory Board member and former Santa Clara University soccer player, Brandi Chastain. "Winning the Capital One Cup requires commitment, dedication and hard work at all levels of a Division I college athletics program and the Cardinal rose above all other schools to claim the trophy. With nine Top 10 finishes they are extremely deserving of this award."

The Capital One Cup men's winning athletics program will be announced after the conclusion of the NCAA College World Series® in late June and will be formally honored at the ESPY Awards televised by ESPN on July 13. The current men's standings and the full women's final standings can be found at CapitalOneCup.com/standings as well as at Facebook.com/CapitalOneCup.

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 $125.4 billion in deposits and $199.3 billion in total assets outstanding as of March 31, 2011. 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, Capital One Academic All-America Program, and supports all 89 NCAA Championships including the Division I Men's and Women's Basketball Championships, and numerous other collegiate athletics programs.

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

Contact: Sukhi Sahni, 703-720-2390
sukhi.sahni@capitalone.com

SOURCE Capital One Financial Corporation