Cooper Tire Names Ultimate Bowl Tour Grand Prize Winner

Five of the Biggest College Bowl Games Await Winner and Sons

FINDLAY, Ohio, Dec. 28 -- COOPER TIRE & RUBBER COMPANY announced today that Bill Gibson from Islip Terrace, N.Y., has won the grand prize in the Cooper Tires Ultimate Bowl Tour sweepstakes. The lucky winner from nearly a million entries is jetting off to five college football bowl games during the next eight days.

"This is really a great prize -- all the bowl games, flying on a private jet, staying in nice hotels," Gibson said. "I'm a big college football fan so I'm looking forward to seeing some great games. I still can't believe I won. My sons put me in front of the computer almost a dozen times to register, and luck took care of the rest."

Gibson, 48, and his three sons depart today on their football odyssey with bowl game stops scheduled in San Antonio, Memphis, Atlanta, Miami and Pasadena. They are traveling in a private jet, and Cooper Tire is providing all of the bowl game tickets, hotel accommodations, and transportation needs. Gibson will be chronicling the Cooper Tires Ultimate Bowl Tour journey each day through a Web log at http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/specialsection/coopertire/.

"In its second year, the Cooper Tires Ultimate Bowl Tour has truly become the premier college football sweepstakes for fans," said Dave S. Craig, Director of North American Advertising and Communications. "The response from consumers -- whether they are tire buyers or college football fans -- has been overwhelming."

As in 2004, Cooper Tire teamed up with ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit, who served as the sweepstakes spokesperson and was part of the Ultimate Bowl Tour's national marketing campaign.

"Each of the five bowl games features great teams, proud schools and exciting student athletes," Herbstreit said. "Mr. Gibson and his sons are the envy of every single college football fan in America."

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 Tires Bowl Challenge Cup.

Twenty-five first-prize winners in the Cooper Tires Ultimate Bowl Tour won certificates for Cooper tires (value: up to $500 per set), and 50 second-prize winners won limited edition Cooper Tires apparel.

"Our commitment to collegiate sports has helped us connect with more consumers than ever before," Craig added. "The Cooper Tires Ultimate Bowl Tour has allowed us to engage our dealers while targeting tire buyers that span our demographics -- from younger consumers in the growing tuner market to brand loyal customers who want our ultra high performance, SUV, or light truck tire offerings."

For more information on the Cooper Tires Ultimate Bowl Tour, visit www.UltimateBowlTour.com.

About Cooper Tire & Rubber Company

Cooper Tire & Rubber Company is a global company that specializes in the design, manufacture, marketing and sales of passenger car, light truck, medium truck tires and subsidiaries that specialize in motorcycle and racing tires, as well as tread rubber and related equipment for the retread industry. With headquarters in Findlay, Ohio, Cooper Tire has 40 manufacturing, sales, distribution, technical and design facilities within its family of companies located around the world. For more information, visit Cooper Tire's web site at: www.coopertireandrubber.com.