Pizza Hut® Celebrates Basketball's Biggest Weekend with Backwards Half-Court Shot Contest for $1 Million Prize

PLANO, Texas, March 17, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- In 1995, Pizza Hut upped the ante by encouraging America to eat their pizza backwards because Stuffed Crust was just that good. Now, 20 years later, Pizza Hut is changing the game again by offering America the chance to sink a half-court shot for a $1 million prize. They just have to do it backwards.

"Making half-court shots has become a little too commonplace, so as we upped the ante 20 years ago by stuffing cheese inside pizza crust, we're doing it again by challenging America to make a half-court shot backwards," said Jared Drinkwater, Vice President of Marketing, Pizza Hut. "The great thing is that even if you won't be in Indianapolis, you still have a shot at this $1 million prize. We can't wait to see what happens on April 5."  

The company will hold a live event, hosted by Jay Williams, college basketball analyst, at the legendary Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind., on Sunday, April 5, where four fans will attempt the backwards half-court shot for $1 million. Pizza Hut fans from across the country can enter for a chance to win a spot in the contest by visiting www.stuffedcrustshot.com by Sunday, March 29. Three winners, chosen at random and announced on Tuesday, March 31, will win a trip to Indianapolis to compete.

Between 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, Pizza Hut will host a shoot-around at Hinkle; one lucky fan that participates in the shoot-around and can make a backwards lay-up will win the chance to be the fourth competitor in the $1 million backwards half-court shot contest. The official contest will kick-off at 4:00 p.m., with each competitor getting one attempt at making the backwards half-court shot. Everyone in attendance will be able to try all of Pizza Hut's new Stuffed Crust flavors.

To ensure the whole nation gets a piece of the pie, Pizza Hut will offer half off all Stuffed Crust Pizza orders on April 9 if a competitor sinks the backwards half-court shot.

"Few things can make a crowd go wild like a made half-court shot, so I can only imagine the reaction a made backwards half-court shot for a million dollars is going to get," said Jay Williams, college basketball analyst and former All-American. "I cannot wait to see what happens in Indianapolis. This is certainly an exciting and flavorful way to celebrate the 20-year anniversary of Stuffed Crust Pizza."

The 20th Anniversary of Stuffed Crust Pizza also includes a throwback price of $9.99 for a 1-topping large Stuffed Crust Pizza, the original price the company sold it for 20 years ago. It will be supported by an advertisement featuring basketball legend and one of the league's leading stuffers, David Robinson, who starred in the original Stuffed Crust commercial, and broadcasting legend Dick Vitale. Walking through a "Hall of Stuffed Stuff," Robinson relives his original commercial, and the idea of a crust so good, you want to eat it first. The commercial can be viewed by visiting www.YouTube.com/PizzaHut.

Stuffed Crust changed the pizza game when Pizza Hut first debuted it in 1995, increasing sales for the company by $300 million in its first year. Over the past 20 years, it has also become a platform for global innovation, such as Marmite Stuffed Crust in Australia and Cheese Jalapeno Stuffed Crust in Oman, as well as a multi-billion dollar business for Pizza Hut.

Customers can now enjoy their favorite Stuffed Crust Pizza with more flavor than ever before. As part of the Flavor of Now menu launch in November, Stuffed Crust can be ordered with any of the 10 new crust flavors such as Hut Favorite, Honey Sriracha and Salted Pretzel, and include any of the five new base sauces, four all-new sauce drizzles and five new premium ingredients. These favorites can be ordered at pizzahut.com or by visiting any of the Pizza Hut locations nationwide.

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 57 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 90 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) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/pizzahut).

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