Tire Company Names Grand Prize Winner

Five of the Biggest College Bowl Games Await Winner and Friends

FINDLAY, Ohio, Dec. 29 -- Cooper Tire & Rubber Company announces today that Robert Simmons of Baton Rouge, La., has won the grand prize in the Ultimate Bowl Tour and is jetting off to five college football bowl games during the next seven days. Simmons entered the contest online and had his name selected at random.

"Football is big in the state of Louisiana and in Baton Rouge. Everyone I know, family and friends included, was aware of the Ultimate Bowl Tour contest. They can't believe I won it," Simmons said. "This is really a great prize -- all the bowl games, traveling in a private jet. I'm a big college football fan so I'm looking forward to seeing some great games and all the sights in the different cities."

Simmons, 62, and three friends depart today on their football odyssey with bowl game stops scheduled in San Antonio, Memphis, Pasadena, New Orleans and Miami. They are traveling in a private jet, and Cooper Tire is providing all of the bowl game tickets, hotel accommodations, and transportation needs as part of the grand prize. Simmons will be chronicling the Ultimate Bowl Tour journey each day through a Web log that can be found at http://www.espn.com/ultimatebowltour .

"When we announced the Ultimate Bowl Tour, we believed we had a singularly unique grand prize. Now Bob and his friends are in for the most memorable trip of their lives," said Carl Casalbore, vice president, marketing and retail sales. "The response from consumers -- whether they are tire buyers, college football fans, people who like to enter contests, or all three -- was overwhelming. We're looking forward to Ultimate Bowl Tour 2005 and the enthusiasm it will again generate."

For the Ultimate Bowl Tour, Cooper Tire teamed up with ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit, who served as the contest spokesperson and was part of the Ultimate Bowl Tour's national advertising campaign.

"College football is full of great teams, great schools and great traditions. Mr. Simmons and his buddies are going to see all of that first- hand -- in addition to the pageantry of the bowl games," Herbstreit said. "That's why people were so responsive and so excited about the Ultimate Bowl Tour whenever I talked about it this season."

Cooper Tire is the official tire of six major collegiate conferences, the presenting sponsor of Thursday Night Football on ESPN, and the presenting sponsor of the Cooper Tire Bowl Challenge Cup.

Twenty-five first-prize winners in the Ultimate Bowl Tour won certificates for sets of Cooper Tires (value: up to $500 per set), and 50 second-prize winners won limited edition ESPN/Cooper Tire Ultimate Bowl Tour football jerseys.