INDIANAPOLIS - January 17, 2007 - The NCAA announced today that Pontiac will be title sponsor of the Frozen Four Skills Challenge.

The Pontiac Frozen Four Skills Challenge will be held April 6 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis and will highlight the “Friday Night at the Frozen Four”. The night will start with the presentation of the Hobey Baker Memorial Award at 6 p.m. Central Time and the Hockey Humanitarian Award at 6:35 p.m. The presentation of the awards will be followed by the announcement of the American Hockey Coaches Association All-American teams at 7:20 p.m. The Pontiac Frozen Four Skills Challenge, which will cap off the evening at 7:30 p.m., and the Hobey Baker Memorial Award presentation will both be shown live on ESPNU.

“The NCAA and our partners in the Skills Challenge, Nike Bauer Hockey and the Scottrade Center, are thrilled to have Pontiac become involved as the title sponsor for what will now be called the “Pontiac Frozen Four Skills Challenge,” said Tom Jacobs, NCAA Director of Championships. “This is a fast-paced, exciting event that is synonymous with the Pontiac brand and the performance of their vehicles. We appreciate the outstanding support of one of the NCAA’s corporate champions in helping us take this event to even greater heights.”

The Pontiac Frozen Four Skills Challenge will be held in an East versus West format with each team having six male position players, six female position players, two male goaltenders and two female goaltenders. The competitions in the Skills Challenge will include puck control relay, fastest skater, hardest shot, rapid fire shooting, accuracy shooting and penalty shot. Last year’s inaugural event was held at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee.

“As the Official Performance Machines of the NCAA, Pontiac continues to look for ways to link our brand with the incredible performances seen in college athletics,” says Chris Hornberger, Advertising Manager for Pontiac.  “Sponsoring the Frozen Four Skills Challenge is an excellent way for Pontiac to recognize the commitment that these student-athletes make to take their performance to the highest level.”

New to the Skills Challenge this year will be a youth component which will allow the youth of St. Louis to compete for the chance to be honored at the Friday night event. In the months leading up to the Men’s Frozen Four, the St. Louis Blues will conduct numerous skills challenge events in St. Louis area rinks allowing youth hockey players to compete for a chance to participate in the finals. The finals for the Pontiac Youth Skills Challenge will take place during the week of the Frozen Four at the Scottrade Center and the winners in each skill will be announced during the Pontiac Frozen Four Skills Challenge.

“The St. Louis Blues and Scottrade Center are thrilled to be involved with The Frozen Four Skills Challenge,” said Dennis Petrullo, Sr. Vice President and General Manager, Scottrade Center.  “From the beginning, it has been a common goal of our sponsors and the NCAA to have the all the youth hockey programs in St. Louis involved in this event.  With the commitment of our sponsors and the St. Louis Blues we plan to exceed our goals and bring youth hockey to the forefront in St. Louis.  We all look forward to the exciting competitions that will take place over the next several months and to the Pontiac Frozen Four Skills Challenge.”

Tickets for the Friday Night at the Frozen Four will be on sale February 3, and will be available at the Scottrade Center box office, all Ticketmaster locations, www.Ticketmaster.com and Ticketmaster offices at 314/241-1888.