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Feb. 11, 2013

CHICAGO, Ill. - Western Washington University senior guard Rico Wilkins is one of the nominees for the "State Farm Dark Horse Dunker" competition, Intersport announced today. "State Farm Dark Horse Dunker" nominees are under-the-radar players who have what it takes to compete against the D-I field in Atlanta. The winner will participate in the Denny's Slam Dunk Competition at the State Farm College Slam Dunk & 3-Point Championships in Atlanta at 7 p.m. ET April 4 on ESPN.

Sixteen dunkers have been selected to compete in the "State Farm Dark Horse Dunker" Facebook bracket, which is a five-week knockout competition. Fans will determine the winner by voting during each round at the official Facebook page (facebook.com/CollegeSlam).

Wilkins is facing-off against Northwood's Ra'Shad James in round one. To watch James and Wilkins in action and to vote for them or any of the other competitors visit (facebook.com/CollegeSlam). Voting for round one ends Monday, Feb. 25.

Wilkins, who won the slam-dunk contest at the school's annual Viking Jam in October, is coming off the bench to average 9.8 points on 41.7 percent 3-point shooting (35-of-84) for the defending NCAA Division II national champion Vikings, who are unbeaten in 22 games this season and ranked No.2 in the latest National Association of Basketball Coaches Top 25 Poll. WWU is riding a school-record 28-game winning streak.

Two years in a row, the State Farm Dark Horse Dunker moved on to win the entire Denny's Slam Dunk Competition. Last year, James Justice from Martin Methodist College won the 16-player Dark Horse Dunker bracket before bringing down the house in New Orleans, while Jacob Tucker of Illinois College was named the 2011 champion. Both dunkers are now members of the Harlem Globetrotters. To view Justice's performance visit http://youtu.be/BS737iP9AzY, while Tucker's classic slams are available at http://bit.ly/i80vU0.

For questions about the Facebook competition or the television show, contact Nick Owen at nowen@intersportnet.com or 312-644-5231.

About Intersport Since 1985, Intersport has been an award-winning innovator and leader in the creation of sports and entertainment based marketing platforms. Intersport provides turnkey solutions for global brands by combining two award-winning divisions: Sponsorship & Event Marketing and Television & Digital Media. Intersport owns and operates seven annual live television events: All-Star Football Challenge, College Home Run Derby, College Slam Dunk & 3-Point Championships, Hockey City Classic, National High School Slam Dunk & 3-Point Championships, Women's Basketball Tip-Off Classic and the Under Armour All-America High School Football Game. To learn more about Intersport, log on to www.intersportnet.com, like us on Facebook (www.Facebook.com/IntersportBuzz) or follow us on Twitter (@IntersportBuzz).

About State Farm®: State Farm and its affiliates are the largest provider of car insurance in the U.S. and is a leading insurer in Canada. In addition to providing auto insurance quotes, their 17,800 agents and more than 65,000 employees serve 81 million policies and accounts - more than 79 million auto, home, life and health policies in the United States and Canada, and nearly 2 million bank accounts. Commercial auto insurance, along with coverage for renters, business owners, boats and motorcycles, is also available. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No. 43 on the Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information, please visit http://www.statefarm.com or in Canada http://www.statefarm.ca.