April 5, 2005

From The Naismith Awards

ATLANTA (naismithawards.com) - LSU's Seimone Augustus is this year's winner of the Naismith Trophy Women's College Player of the Year presented by Cingular Wireless, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced today. The Naismith Trophy is given annually to the men's and women's college players of the year and is the most prestigious national award in college basketball.

Augustus will be recognized at the Naismith Awards Banquet presented by Delta Air Lines on April 8 in Atlanta. The other finalists were Duke's Monique Currie, Ohio State's Jessica Davenport and TCU's Sandora Irvin.

"Seimone was a dominant presence on the basketball court this season," said Gary Stokan, Atlanta Tipoff Club president. "She has had an outstanding season and will undoubtedly encounter equally as much success in her senior year and future career. She joins a distinguished group of players to raise the Naismith Trophy."

Augustus, a junior, was selected by the Atlanta Tipoff Club's Board of Selectors - a collection of leading basketball journalists, coaches and administrators from around the country - and, for the first time, the fans. This year, through the power and ease of text messaging, fans accounted for 25% of the Board of Selectors' overall vote. The results were certified by the accounting firm of Habif, Arogeti & Wynne, LLP.

"Seimone is an excellent ambassador for the Naismith Trophy," said Cingular Wireless Chief Marketing Officer Marc Lefar. "We're excited that college basketball fans were able to participate in the voting process and make this year's award special."

Augustus, a 6'1" forward, averaged 20.1 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.4 steals per game this season. She became the school's first Southeastern Conference Player of the Year and first-team All-SEC by both the coaches and the Associated Press. The Most Outstanding Player of the Chattanooga Region in the NCAA Tournament, Augustus was selected by all 45 voters to become LSU's first AP first-team All-America and also received first-team All-America honors from the United States Basketball Writers Association.

For more information, visit www.naismithawards.com.

ABOUT THE ATLANTA TIPOFF CLUB

The Atlanta Tipoff Club, an Atlanta Sports Council property, is committed to promoting the game of basketball and recognizing the outstanding accomplishments of those who make the game so exciting. The Atlanta Tipoff Club has presented the Naismith Trophy since UCLA's Lew Alcindor first won the award in 1969. In 1983, Old Dominion's Anne Donovan received the inaugural women's college player of the year award.

ABOUT CINGULAR WIRELESS

Cingular Wireless is the largest wireless carrier in the United States, serving more than 49 million customers. Cingular, a joint venture between SBC Communications Inc. (NYSE: SBC) and BellSouth Corporation (NYSE: BLS), has the largest digital voice and data network in the nation and the largest mobile-to-mobile community of any national wireless carrier. Cingular is the only U.S. wireless carrier to offer Rollover℠, 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://www.cingular.com/newsroom .