Three "Winged" Teams Advance To Round Of 16, Getting America Closer To Free Wings From Pizza Hut® WingStreet®

PLANO, Texas, March 24, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- After four high-flying days of tournament action filled with upsets and buzzer beaters, three "winged" teams remain in the hunt to win it all and reward America with free kitchen-fried WingStreet wings from Pizza Hut. 

When the tournament tipped off last week, Pizza Hut issued the challenge that if a "winged" team takes home the title on April 7 – that's any team with a nickname or mascot with wings – America can come to participating locations to carry out a free sample four count of its WingStreet wings on April 10 between 1-4 p.m. local time (while supplies last; offer details found at www.pizzahut.com/wingedmascotgiveaway.html).

"We think that any of the three 'winged' teams remaining in the tournament have a serious shot of cutting down the nets in Dallas on April 7," said Jared Drinkwater, Senior Director of Marketing, Pizza Hut. "We really hope it happens so that anyone in America can experience for free what sets our WingStreet wings apart from the competition."

Three of the four regions of the tournament include one remaining "winged" team, and wing lovers across America have options when it comes to which bandwagon to hop on.  There's the defending champion from the home of Pizza Hut parent company Yum! Brands, as well as an underdog from the state of Ohio that has soared into the round of 16 following a pair of major upsets. Wing gurus can also cheer for the winged mascot that hails from Ames, Iowa who has been creating quite the storm with late-game heroics.

Also, the history of the tournament supports our "winged" brethren.  Did you know:

• The first ever tournament title winner in 1939 boasted a wing mascot, as did last year's champion.
• In total, there have been nine victorious "winged" teams throughout history to win the men's tournament.
• Of the remaining "winged" teams in the 2014 tournament, they are responsible for 33 percent of the "winged" teams to win throughout history.

The "winged" team challenge complements the Pizza Hut announcement last week that its WingStreet concept has been rolled out nationally, now present in more than 5,000 restaurants across America.  As the tournament continues, customers can get an order of eight WingStreet wings with their choice of any sauce–starting at just $5 and have them delivered, just like their favorite Pizza Hut pizzas.

The award-winning* WingStreet wings are kitchen-fried and tossed with a choice of one of eight sauces to give customers a wing-joint-quality experience from America's largest pizza chain. The sauce flavors include: Buffalo Mild, Buffalo Medium, Buffalo Burnin' Hot, Spicy Asian, Spicy BBQ, Honey BBQ, Lemon Pepper and Garlic Parmesan. Consumers can also choose from several varieties of wings including Traditional, Bone-Out or Crispy Bone-In. 

Throughout the tournament, Pizza Hut is also making free deliveries of WingStreet wings to select fans that tweet @PizzaHut using the hashtag #WingsDelivered. More information can be found at https://www.pizzahut.com/assets/w/marketingpages/sweepstakes/WINGSDELIVEREDRules.pdf.

WingStreet has won several awards, including:  NY National Buffalo Wing Festival: 2nd Place Best Traditional BBQ Wing Sauce (2013), Best Medium Traditional Wing Sauce (2006, 2008, 2009), Best Hot Traditional Wing Sauce (2007); Atlanta Wing Festival: Best Medium Sauce and Best BBQ Sauce (2007); Denver Post: Best Take-Out Wings with Medium Sauce (2007); Nation's Restaurant News "Hot Concepts! Award" Honoree (2007).

For more information and the latest brand happenings or to order WingStreet wings, visit PizzaHut.com.

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. In 2013, Pizza Hut was named the Harris Poll Equitrend® Pizza Brand of the Year and was the recipient of the Innovation and Leadership in Advertising Award from the American Advertising Federation, 10^th District. The only pizza company to be named a top ten franchise in 2013 by Entrepreneur Magazine, Pizza Hut began 56 years ago in Wichita, Kansas, and today operates more than 14,000 restaurants in more than 100 countries. Pizza Hut also is the proprietor of the BOOK IT!® Program, which is a long-standing children's literacy program used in more than 620,000 classrooms nationwide. To order online from Pizza Hut, visit PizzaHut.com.

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SOURCE Pizza Hut