PLANO, Texas, Oct. 18, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- For one lucky
college sports fan, Pizza Hut is making dreams a reality.
Introducing the Pizza Hut All-American, an incredible college
sports experience that will take one sports fan on an epic
adventure to celebrate Division I NCAA championships during the
2016-17 season – and they'll get paid to do it.
That's right. In its first year as the Official Pizza Partner of
the NCAA, Pizza Hut is looking to give one ultimate college sports
fan an opportunity of a lifetime. This fall, Pizza Hut will offer
$50,000 to one passionate sports fan
to travel to as many Division I NCAA championships as possible,
sharing their journey with millions of sports fans everywhere.
"This is one of those rare once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to
experience something that no one has done before," said
David Daniels, Vice President, Media
& Advertising, Pizza Hut. "We know that college sports fans are
as passionate about their teams as we are about pizza, and as the
Official Pizza of the NCAA, we felt it was our obligation to bring
exclusive Pizza Hut experiences to Division I NCAA championships,
especially those that often don't get the limelight. We cannot wait
to send our first-ever Pizza Hut All-American to bring incredible
Pizza Hut experiences to these events and celebrate the great
fandom that exists across all college sports."
The Pizza Hut All-American program is part of the pizza
restaurant's broader partnership with the NCAA, Turner Sports and CBS Sports, which makes Pizza
Hut the "Official Pizza of the NCAA." Pizza Hut will support
intercollegiate athletics and student-athlete achievements through
marketing programs and initiatives at multiple NCAA championships
events. The partnership provides Pizza Hut the ability to use
official NCAA marks and media, as well as the opportunity activate
at official NCAA events, including NCAA March Madness®, College
World Series®, Frozen Four® and more. As part of the partnership,
Pizza Hut will activate around all 90 NCAA championships this year,
from basketball and hockey, to bowling and beach volleyball, and
beyond.
The partnership was facilitated through CBS Sports and Turner,
which manage and collaborate on the NCAA's Corporate Champion and
Partner program.
"NCAA student-athletes and fans have tremendous passion for the
college sports that they love and we're pleased that Pizza Hut will
tap into that passion as a new NCAA corporate partner," said
Joni Comstock, acting NCAA executive
vice president for championships and alliances. "Pizza Hut has a
high level of excellence, whether it's making great pizza or
supporting educational initiatives. We're very pleased to welcome
them into the NCAA family and look forward to their activities
surrounding the Pizza Hut All-American at NCAA championships
throughout the year."
"From memorable advertising campaigns to crowd-pleasing pizza
offerings and local programs benefiting thousands of communities
across the country, Pizza Hut continues to distinguish itself as an
innovative marketer and unparalleled brand-builder," said
Devron Edwards, Vice President, NCAA
Partnerships, CBS. "The Pizza Hut All-American will connect fans
with college sports like never before, providing unprecedented
access to NCAA Championship events throughout the year."
"Pizza Hut is an iconic brand, and one that is a natural fit for
the excitement and culture surrounding college sports," said
Katy Mollica, VP of NCAA
Partnerships, Turner Sports. "We are
excited to partner with them in bringing unique brand experiences
like Pizza Hut All-American to life across television, digital and
at major events surrounding NCAA championships."
To help kick off the search for the first-ever Pizza Hut
All-American, Pizza Hut has enlisted the help of Shane Battier, a star professional basketball
player and member of the 2001 Duke
University NCAA Men's Division I Basketball
Championship-winning team.
"The Pizza Hut All-American opportunity is an incredibly
exciting opportunity," said Battier. "To have a chance to be part
of all of these championships is pretty special. I'm looking
forward to seeing what kind of candidates are out there."
The ideal Pizza Hut All-American talent will demonstrate passion
for all NCAA sports and will be outgoing, enthusiastic and eager to
share their All-American journey with fans online. The right talent
will also be social media savvy, with a proven track record of
creating great content. Pizza Hut will narrow the list of talent to
three and put them through the paces of what an activation might be
like. Pizza Hut will also enable its social communities to partake
in the interview processes with some portions being live streamed
and allowing fans to submit interview questions.
Sports fans interested in applying to be the Pizza Hut
All-American can enter online at blog.pizzahut.com. Applications
will be accepted through November 6,
2016.
For more information about Pizza Hut please visit
blog.pizzahut.com or to order now, visit www.pizzahut.com.
MUST BE 21 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER TO PARTICIPATE. NO
PURCHASE NECESSARY TO PARTICIPATE.
About Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut, a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM),
delivers more pizza, pasta and wings than any other restaurant in
the world. The company began 58 years ago in Wichita, Kansas, when two brothers borrowed
$600 from their mom to start a
pizzeria.
What started out small has become the biggest pizza company in
the world and today operates more than 15,600 restaurants in more
than 97 countries serving innovative pizzas, traditional favorites
like the signature Pan Pizza, and much more. Pizza Hut also is the
proprietor of the BOOK IT!® Program, which is a long-standing
children's literacy program used in more than 630,000 classrooms
nationwide. For more information, visit www.pizzahut.com. Follow
Pizza Hut on Facebook (www.facebook.com/PizzaHut), Twitter
(www.twitter.com/pizzahut) and Instagram
(www.instagram.com/pizzahut).
About the NCAA
The NCAA is a diverse association of more than 1,100 member
colleges and universities that prioritize academics, well-being and
fairness to create greater opportunities for nearly half a million
student-athletes each year. The NCAA provides a pathway to higher
education and beyond for student-athletes pursuing academic goals
and competing in NCAA sports. More than 54,000 student-athletes
experience the pinnacle of intercollegiate athletics by competing
in NCAA championships each year. Visit ncaa.org and ncaa.com for
more details about the Association and the corporate partnerships
that support the NCAA and its student-athletes. The NCAA is proud
to have AT&T, Capital One and Coca-Cola as official corporate
champions and the following elite companies as official corporate
partners: Allstate, Amazon Echo, Bing (Microsoft), Buffalo Wild
Wings, Buick, Enterprise, Infiniti, LG, Lowe's, Nabisco,
Northwestern Mutual, Pizza Hut, Reese's, Unilever and Wendy's.
About Turner Sports
Turner Sports, a division of
Turner, is an industry leader in the delivery of premium sports
content across all multimedia screens. Turner Sports' television coverage includes the
NBA, Major League Baseball, NCAA Division I Men's Basketball
Championship, ELEAGUE and professional golf. The
company also manages some of the most popular sports destinations
across broadband and mobile platforms including Bleacher Report and
its top-rated Team Stream app, NCAA.com and the
critically-acclaimed NCAA March Madness Live suite of
products, PGA.com and the Sports Emmy Award-winning PGA
Championship LIVE, as well as an accompanying collection of mobile
sites and connected device apps. Turner Sports and the NBA also jointly manage
NBA Digital, a robust collection of offerings including NBA
TV, NBA.com, NBA LEAGUE PASS, the NBA App, NBADLEAGUE.com
and WNBA.com.
*For all media inquiries, please contact Pizza Hut:
Doug Terfehr, 972-338-6992,
Doug.Terfehr@yum.com
Courtney Moscovic, 972-338-8288,
Courtney.Moscovic@yum.com
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SOURCE Pizza Hut