The NCAA News - News and Features

The NCAA News -- December 7, 1998

Next year's soccer finals to be 'College Cups'

The Division I men's and women's soccer championships will be called the "College Cups" beginning in 1999.

The name was selected from more than 1,000 entries in the NCAA's "Name the Game" contest that challenged participants to suggest a name for the semifinals and final of the Division I Men's and Women's Soccer Championships.

The winning entry was submitted by Joe Fast, an 11-year-old soccer enthusiast from Eagan, Minnesota.

Fans from ages 6 to 81 offered more than 1,000 suggestions through e-mail and hand-written submissions. The NCAA Men's and Women's Soccer Committees narrowed the field to a short list of finalists before settling on the winning phrase.

The 1999 College Cup will be held at Ericsson Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, December 9 and 11. The Women's College Cup will be December 3 and 5 at Spartan Stadium in San Jose, California.

As winner of the contest, Fast was awarded two tickets to the Division I men's championship in Richmond, Virginia, as well as airfare and lodging.

The contest was sponsored by Nabisco and was introduced to seek a clearly unique and separate title for the soccer championships.

NCAA officials said the "Name the Game" campaign added to the soccer championships' exposure while providing a barometer to gauge the possibility of naming other NCAA championships in a similar fashion.