Mascot Challenge Midseason Report

Oct. 18, 2005

LAWRENCE, Kan. –

The Capital One Mascot Challenge is halfway over for Big Jay as he enters into the seventh week of competition. Through the first six weeks of the challenge, Big Jay is in ninth place overall with a record of 2-4. Big Jay started off the competition well by receiving the most votes in week one and with two straight victories over Butch T. Cougar (2-4) of Washington State and Bruiser (2-4) of Baylor.

Big Jay kicks off the second half of the mascot challenge by matching up against Sam the Minuteman (1-5) of the University of Massachusetts. Big Jay is looking to end his four-game losing streak and start off the second half of the season on the right foot. “This is a chance for a fresh start in the competition,” said Big Jay. “With the support of my loyal fans, I hope to finish strong and make the playoffs.”

At the beginning of the week, Big Jay was trailing Sam the Minuteman by over 20,000 votes. Fans can vote daily by visiting the voting site www.capitalonebowl.com, or via text message by sending the code M2 to 4ESPN (43776). Voting for Big Jay’s matchup against Sam will end Monday, Oct. 24, at 7:59 a.m.

Each week, Big Jay will be matched up against a mascot from a different school. Voting periods for each matchup will run from 8:00 a.m. Monday to 7:59 a.m. the following Monday. On Nov. 21, the regular season ends and the mascots with the top six overall records in head-to-head matchups advance to the playoffs. The playoffs will be single elimination and will consist of three rounds. Voting for the championship match will run from Dec. 5 to Dec. 19, with the winner being crowned Jan. 2, 2006, at the Capital One Bowl in Orlando, Fla.