College Football Fans Select Michigan Wide Receiver Mario Manningham as the Week Three Cingular All-America Player of the Week

ATLANTA, Sept. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- The votes have been counted and college football fans nationwide have selected University of Michigan wide receiver Mario Manningham as the week three Cingular All-America Player of the Week, the only major college football award chosen exclusively by the fans.

Manningham claimed the honor after hauling in three touchdown receptions in the Wolverines' 47-21 victory at second-ranked Notre Dame last Saturday. Manningham, who had 137 receiving yards in the game, helped Michigan score the most points against the Fighting Irish on its home field in 46 years. He is the first Wolverine player to win the award since running back Mike Hart was selected during week seven of the 2004 season.

Manningham received 43% of the votes to beat out Florida quarterback Chris Leak (27%), Southern California quarterback John David Booty (19%) and Oregon wide receiver Jaison Williams (11%). Each player was nominated for this week's award by a panel of ESPN college football analysts based on their outstanding performances last weekend.

Manningham, a first-time winner of the Cingular All-America Player of the Week, joins Rutgers running back Ray Rice and Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn on this year's winner's list.

Fans can register to vote for the Cingular All-America Player of the Week throughout the season by text messaging "VOTE" to "87654" on their wireless phone, with the nominees being revealed each Sunday on the 9 a.m. ESPN SportsCenter and on the Web at http://www.espnallamerica.com/. Fans have until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the following Wednesday to submit their votes. The winner will then be announced during ESPN's Thursday night college football game. Fans can vote as many times as they like, with each vote counting as one entry into a sweepstakes to win a trip to the 2007 BCS National Championship game.

Cingular customers can visit Cingular's NCAA(R) Football Portal on their wireless handset to view video highlights of each week's candidates, retrieve photos, check scoreboards, track their favorite teams, and download school ringtones.

In December, four finalists for the Cingular All-America Player of the Year award will be announced during a one-hour special on ABC Sports. Fans will then get a chance to say who the best player in the nation is by voting for the Cingular All-America Player of the Year up until the Bowl Championship Series. The selection process will culminate during the BCS National Championship game on FOX when the Cingular All-America Player of the Year will be presented.

Last year, Texas quarterback Vince Young was crowned as the Cingular All- America Player of the Year, beating out Southern California teammates Reggie Bush and Matt Leinart and Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn. Young was the second Longhorn to claim the award, after running back Cedric Benson won the inaugural honor in 2004.

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