Souvenir Pieces of Championship Floor Go On Sale to Public

MILWAUKEE, Sept. 10, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Starting this week, pieces of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship Floor are on sale to the general public. Northwestern Mutual, a corporate partner of the NCAA, acquired the floor following the 2013 tournament and turned it into souvenir pieces for fans of the national champion University of Louisville Cardinals. Proceeds of the sale will benefit Kosair Children's Hospital in Louisville.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130206/CG55426LOGO)

Fans can purchase their piece of the championship floor by visiting GoCards.com/floor. There they can choose from three different sizes of souvenir floor pieces ranging in price from $99.99–$499.99. University of Louisville Head Coach Rick Pitino will autograph 1,000 of the larger pieces.

Proceeds from the sale will specifically help support research being conducted by a team led by Kenneth Lucas, M.D., chief of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at Kosair Children's Hospital and division chief of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation for the University of Louisville Department of Pediatrics.

"It is exciting to get this effort underway to raise funds for the fight against pediatric cancer," said President of the Northwestern Mutual Foundation John Kordsmeier. "We're proud to support the communities that we serve, and donating the floor in order to raise money for cancer research is a win for everyone involved."

The company mounted a similar effort in 2012 after the University of Kentucky won the national basketball championship, raising more than $200,000 to help the fight against pediatric cancer.

"Northwestern Mutual's support continues to provide much needed funds to work on ground-breaking research that can help thousands of children," said Thomas D. Kmetz, division president of Women's and Children's services and president, Kosair Children's Hospital. "We're very appreciative that they've stepped up again to help fight pediatric cancer."

The company also donated the center court logo portion of the floor to the University of Louisville to hang in the KFC Yum! Center.

"As exciting as it was for us to win the national championship this year, it's also exciting to be part of this effort to raise money for cancer research," said Pitino. "It's all about giving back to the community, and Northwestern Mutual is providing a great example of how to be a good corporate citizen."

Since 2012, the Northwestern Mutual Foundation in addition to Northwestern Mutual employees, financial representatives and community supporters have contributed $1.5 million in the fight against childhood cancer, which includes helping more than 200 families travel and stay together during their children's cancer treatments and funding nearly 13,000 hours of critical research projects.  

About Northwestern Mutual
Northwestern Mutual is among the "World's Most Admired" life insurance companies in 2013 according to FORTUNE® magazine and has helped clients achieve financial security for more than 156 years. As a mutual company with $1.4 trillion of life insurance protection in force, Northwestern Mutual has no shareholders. The company focuses solely and directly on its clients and seeks to deliver consistent and dependable value to them over time.

Northwestern Mutual is the marketing name for The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company, Milwaukee, WI, and its subsidiaries. Northwestern Mutual and its subsidiaries offer a holistic approach to financial security solutions including: life insurance, long-term care insurance, disability income insurance, annuities, investment products, and advisory products and services. Subsidiaries include Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, LLC, broker-dealer, registered investment adviser, member FINRA and SIPC; the Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company, limited purpose federal savings bank; Northwestern Long Term Care Insurance Company; and Russell Investments.

NCAA is a trademark of the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

SOURCE Northwestern Mutual