Pontiac Gives Fans Opportunity To Select NCAA Football Game Changing
Nov. 15, 2004
Coral Gables, Fla (www.hurricanesports.com) — – With the kickoff of the 2004 college football season, Pontiac hasintroduced the first-ever fan-voted scholarship award program in thehistory of the NCAA. The “Pontiac Game Changing Performance” feature willrecognize that dramatic moment which occurs in almost every competition,that ends up changing the outcome of a game, and perhaps defining aseason.
Fans can choose to pick the Hurricanes “Miami Nice” play vs. Virginia last weekend at www.espn.com/pontiac.
“The Pontiac Game Changing Performance scholarship award program willfocus on plays that vividly show the most incredible, spine-tinglingmoments that exemplify the emotion and intensity of NCAA sports,” saidDino Bernacchi, Pontiac Advertising Manager. “The connection to Pontiacas the performance division of GM is clear.”
The Game Changing Performance program is one of the components of thepartnership between Pontiac, the National Collegiate AthleticAssociation, CBS and ESPN.
Each week, fans can go online, view the nominated plays, and vote fortheir favorite Game Changing Performance. The play selected by the fanswill generate a $5,000 contribution from Pontiac to that school’sgeneral scholarship fund. Additionally, the play becomes eligible forinclusion in voting at the end of the season to determine the “PontiacGame Changing Performance of the Year.” The play of the year, selected infan voting during the month of December, will result in a $100,000general scholarship fund contribution from Pontiac to the winning NCAAinstitution.
“Pontiac has created a great scholarship program that shows itscontinued commitment to NCAA athletics. The weekly voting process of theGame Changing Performance scholarship gets college football fansdirectly involved with the accomplishments of NCAA football teams whilegenerating national attention for our colleges and universities,” saidPeter Davis, associate director of NCAA corporate alliances. “One of thebest parts of this initiative is the fact that it will ultimatelybenefit our member institutions and their efforts to provide programsand experiences for NCAA student-athletes.”
Nominations will be reviewed on ESPN each weekend by on air talent suchas Chris Fowler, Lee Corso, and Kirk Herbstreit, and nominated plays canbe voted on Sunday morning through Thursday morning at espn.com/pontiac. Eachweek’s winning performance will be announced during the Pontiac HighPerformance Halftime Report on ESPN Thursday night games.
By the end of the season, Pontiac, a leading sponsor of NCAA sportingevents and collegiate athletics, will have contributed nearly $200,000to NCAA institutions.
The Pontiac Game Changing Performance feature began on September 4 andwill conclude with selection of the Game Changing Performance of theYear during the half time of a Bowl Championship Series game.
Full program details can be reviewed on www.espn.com/pontiac.
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Pontiac is the performance division of General Motors Corporation andmarkets the GTO, Grand Prix, Grand Am, Vibe, Bonneville, Sunfire andMontana. Pontiac sold more than 475,000 vehicles in 2003, ranking thirdamong GM divisions in total sales. For the 2005 model year, Pontiacdealers will introduce a new Vibe, Montana SV6 and G6 sports sedan.
