June 14, 2001

NEW YORK, N.Y. - For the third consecutive year, Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) and U.S. Women's National Team standout Mia Hamm has been ranked in the Top 10 Product Endorsers from Sports, according to a survey from Burns Sports and Celebrities, Inc. of over 1,500 advertising agency and corporate marketing executives nationwide.

In fact it is a survey dominated by former Tar Heel athletes. Hamm, '94, ranks fifth in the survey while Michael Jordan, '85, and Marion Jones, '97, are second and sixth, respectively.

For the first time in the survey's history, three women were among the top vote getters, truly making 2001 the Year of the Woman in sports endorsements. Hamm, the highest scoring soccer player in International history, male or female, has endorsement contracts with more than a dozen companies and ranked #5 on this year's list. She is a four-time NCAA Champion, Olympic Gold and Silver Medalist, and 2-time World Champion. Currently, she is captain of the Washington Freedom from the newly launched WUSA.

2001 Top Product Endorsers from Sports

1) Tiger Woods

2) Michael Jordan

3) Lance Armstrong

4) Anna Kournikova

5) Mia Hamm

6) Marion Jones

7) Andre Agassi

8) Muhammad Ali

9) Kobe Bryant

10) Wayne Gretzky

Ms. Hamm is represented by Bober Associates, Inc. in New York City, an agency specializing in women's sports and broadcasting. Clients include many of Ms. Hamm's teammates: World Cup and Olympic Champions Kristine Lilly, Lorrie Fair, Cindy Parlow, Tisha Venturini, Nikki Serlenga, WUSA's Heather Mitts, and Kate Sobrero, and Olympic Gold Medal winning softball pitcher Michele Smith, 3-Time World Champion Surfer Layne Beachley, CBS Sports' broadcaster Bonnie Bernstein, Turner Sports/ESPN broadcaster Wendy Gebauer, WNBA and former Collegiate All-American Shea Ralph, and many others.