The Candidate: Duke Dog has reached the Capital One All-America Mascots finals with 11 other furry foes. Now the Madison canine needs your help to fetch the top spot. During the weekly mascot match-ups through Dec. 26, vote online once a day for Duke Dog at www.capitalonebowl.com.

The Contest: Your votes will determine the winner of the popular vote portion of the contest. Those scores will be combined with judges' rankings on the mascots' interaction with fans, sportsmanship and community
service. The elite mascot team will be featured in a national ad campaign on ABC, ESPN and ESPN2.

National Mascot of the Year announcement: Jan. 1, during the Capital One Bowl on ABC

www.capitalonebowl.com

Put your paws where your Purple Pride is. Vote now!

          THE CAMPAIGN MANAGER

JMU senior Mike Keown is the man helping Duke Dog put his best paw forward. Nearly 300 collegiate teams enter a mascot in the Capital One All-America competition. Keown completed Duke Dog's application and compiled a spirited video highlighting the pup's community service, popularity and sportsmanship. The video featured JMU President Linwood H. Rose, men's basketball coach Dean Keener, members of the football team and JMU fans. "That was the easy part," says Keown, a communications/public relations major. "Our alumni network is not as large as some of our opponents, but our alumni are very passionate. We've got to get the word out to vote!" Keown has utilized all major JMU publications, dining services, the Duke Club and word of mouth to get students, alumni and the community rallied to vote for Duke Dog. Though Keown got internship credit for his video, application and marketing plan, the follow-through has been all heart. "Getting out the word to vote is the hard part," he says, "but I enjoy it because students and alumni love this school."