PLANO, Texas, Nov. 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- In October, Pizza
Hut kicked off the search for the first-ever Pizza Hut
All-American, a real, paid opportunity allowing one lucky sports
fan to travel to as many NCAA championships as possible throughout
the 2016-17 season. Now, after 1,000+ submissions, Pizza Hut has
found the winner of this dream experience: Jason Zone Fisher, a sports-loving, pizza-eating
storyteller from Cleveland,
Ohio.
Pizza Hut received submissions from 42 states. Correspondents
were asked to include a video about why they would be the perfect
Pizza Hut All-American, along with answering a list of 12 questions
such as, "what's your favorite sports movie" and "tell us your most
memorable Pizza Hut moment."
In the end, Fisher – who now lives in Los Angeles – was selected for his related
experience (formerly hosted a show on the Big Ten Network), love of
pizza (pepperoni, sausage, mushroom, onions and jalapeños are his
top choices), understanding of social media (has developed and
produced content across social media platforms) and simple,
downright love of all college sports.
"We received a tremendous number of very impressive submissions
from all over the country," said Doug
Terfehr, senior director, public relations and partnerships,
Pizza Hut. "We believed the opportunity sounded pretty cool – watch
college sports, eat amazing pizza and share that experience – but
we didn't know what to expect. We were blown away. In the end,
Jason's enthusiasm for this exceeded even our own, and his unique
set of experiences makes him the perfect person to become the
first-ever Pizza Hut All-American."
Fisher will begin his official NCAA national championship tour
in Terre Haute, Ind., which will
be renamed "Terre Hut" in honor of the program. An official
proclamation from Terre Haute Mayor Duke
Bennett will be announced on Friday declaring that on
Saturday, Nov. 19 Terre Haute will be
known as "Terre Hut." Joining Mayor Bennett and Fisher at the event
will be former NCAA National Champion and college basketball player
of the year Shane Battier, who
serves as the Pizza Hut All-American ambassador, as well as
Indiana-native and folk-hero cross
country runner Noah Droddy. Droddy
is a former two-time NCAA Division III Cross Country All-American
and now as a professional runner, was recently runner-up at the 10
Mile Championships. Droddy became an internet sensation during the
build up to Rio.
Droddy, Battier, Mayor Bennett, Fisher, and Pizza Hut and NCAA
representatives welcome the community to the 11 a.m. ceremony for free pizza and much
more.
"As the home of the NCAA Cross Country Championship,
Terre Haute residents have always
had a love of college sports," said Mayor Duke Bennett. "We are honored to partner with
Pizza Hut to celebrate the fandom and passion our city has for
sports by renaming our beautiful city Terre Hut on Saturday, Nov. 19."
Over the course of the 2016-17 season, Fisher will attend NCAA
championships as the Pizza Hut All-American. He will travel from
city-to-city and championship-to-championship, documenting his
experiences online and on social media to give followers a chance
to see how Pizza Hut fuels fandom and celebrates college sports
around the country. He will also be responsible for uncovering
little known facts and traditions about each championship, in
addition to finding fans most passionate about Pizza Hut. This army
of fans will ultimately be known as "Hut Lovers," and will receive
surprise-and-delight prizes from the Pizza Hut All-American
throughout the tour.
"Sports and storytelling are my two biggest passions, so the
opportunity to help Pizza Hut tell fun, compelling stories that
revolve around championship performances and great pizza is a dream
come true," said Fisher. "I am happiest when I'm connecting with
people, watching sports and eating pizza, of course, so I can't
wait for my journey to begin as the first-ever Pizza Hut
All-American."
As for the actual championship, Pizza Hut plans an epic
celebration at the cross country course. On Saturday, Droddy, with
the help of the Pacers High Octane Drumline, will deliver hundreds
of Pizza Hut pizzas to fans at the LaVern Gibson Cross Country
Course.
"Running is my passion and I eat pizza after every race, so it
was a no-brainer to partner with Pizza Hut to help bring awareness
around and excitement for my favorite sport," said Droddy.
For more information on the Pizza Hut All-American and to follow
his journey, check out blog.pizzahut.com and follow the
All-American on Twitter and Instagram at @PHAllAmerican.
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.
*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