Texas Quarterback Vince Young Wins His First Cingular/ABC Sports All-America Player of the Week Award

ATLANTA, Sept. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Texas quarterback Vince Young made a powerful statement in the Longhorns' ABC Sports prime time win over Ohio State last weekend and college football fans across the country have taken notice. Today, Young was announced as the Cingular Wireless/ABC Sports All-America Player of the Week, the only major college football award determined exclusively by fan voting. Young staked his claim to the award by passing for 270 yards and two touchdowns in the Longhorns' dramatic 25-22 victory against the Buckeyes.

Young, who garnered 77% of the votes, was one of four candidates for the Cingular/ABC Sports All-America Player of the Week, who were selected by a panel of ABC Sports and ESPN college football analysts. The other finalists were: Northwestern running back Tyrell Sutton, who rushed for 214 yards and four touchdowns in the Wildcats' victory over Northern Illinois; California wide receiver Robert Jordan, who had 11 receptions for 193 yards and three touchdowns in the Golden Bears' win against Washington; and Ohio cornerback Dion Byrum, who returned two interceptions for touchdowns in the Bobcats' over-time win against Pittsburgh.

Each week's winner is determined solely by college football fans nationwide. Throughout the season, the nominees are announced Sunday morning at 9 a.m. EDT on ESPN. Then, fans have until the following Wednesday at 11:59 p.m. EDT to submit their votes via wireless text messaging.* The winner is announced every Thursday night during the first half of the ESPN Thursday Night College Football game. Fans can learn more about the award and each week's nominees online at http://www.abcsportsallamerica.com/ or at http://www.cingularallamerica.com/.

Here's how fans can register to vote for the Cingular/ABC Sports All- America Player of the Week throughout the 2005 season:

- Text "VOTE" to "87654" on your wireless phone - Follow the prompt to vote for your All-America selection - Cingular/ABC Sports Player of the Week candidates will be automatically sent out via text messaging each week

Each time fans vote, they are entered into a sweepstakes to win a trip to the Bowl Championship Series game of their choice. Fans can vote as often as they like. Last week, University of Georgia senior quarterback D.J. Shockley took home the trophy.

In December, fans will get a chance to say who the best player in the nation is by voting for the Cingular/ABC Sports All-America Player of the Year. The selection process will culminate in December in a one-hour special on ABC Sports when the Cingular/ABC Sports Player of the Year and the Football Writers Association of America All-America team will be announced. Last year, University of Texas running back and Chicago Bears first round draft pick Cedric Benson was selected by fans as the Player of the Year.

*Other wireless carriers must opt-in for their subscribers to participate ABOUT CINGULAR WIRELESS

Cingular Wireless is the largest wireless carrier in the United States, serving 51.6 million customers. Cingular, a joint venture between SBC Communications Inc. and BellSouth Corporation , has the largest digital voice and data network in the nation -- the ALLOVER(SM) network -- and the largest mobile-to-mobile community of any national wireless carrier. Cingular is the only U.S. wireless carrier to offer Rollover(R), the wireless plan that lets customers keep their unused monthly minutes. Details of the company are available at http://www.cingular.com/. Get Cingular Wireless press releases e-mailed to you automatically. Sign up at http://cingular.mediaroom.com/.