Dec. 30, 2004

LAS VEGAS - UNLV's Hey Reb has finished second in the online portion of the race in his quest to be crowned Capital One Mascot of the Year. However, this contest is far from over.

Voting consisted of 11 weekly match ups between the finalists. James Madison's Duke Dog recorded the best win/loss record in the online portion of the contest with a mark of 11-0. Hey Reb finished tied for second with Montana's Monte at 6-5. South Carolina's Cocky, Kentucky's Scratch, Virginia Tech's Hokie Bird, Air Force's The Bird, Georgia's Hairy Dawg, Minnesota's Goldy and Maryland's Testudo all finished 5-6. Western Kentucky's Big Red and Auburn's Aubie rounded out the 12 finalists at 4-7.

Each mascot was assigned a point value (1-12) based on its standing in the popular vote. This was then combined with a judges' ranking (1-12) which was conducted last summer when the team was selected to determine who gets the ultimate title. The winner will be announced on Jan. 1, 2005 during the nationally televised Capital One Bowl.

This year's diverse crew was chosen from Division IA and IAA athletic programs with college football teams. They made the squad after being ranked on mascot musts such as: (1) interaction with fans, (2) sportsmanship and (3) community service. The panel of judges, including mascot guru and historian, Dr. Roy Yarbrough; former college mascot and current sports marketer from Richmond Sports Backers Scott Schricker; and representatives from ESPN and Capital One.

Over the past three years, Capital One has helped thrust the spotlight on these unsung heroes of the gridiron. Team members star in a national advertising campaign, which this year features the mascots as they vie for the heart of "Maiden Melissa" in ads spoofing reality dating shows. In addition to hooplah, each mascot receives $5,000 for its school's mascot program. Mascot of the Year receives an additional $5,000 scholarship to help fund its school's mascot program.