News Releases

MILWAUKEE, WI – January 2, 2013 – Keith Peden of Bremerton, Wash. won the first-ever NCAA Women’s Volleyball bracket contest from Northwestern Mutual, the company announced today. Peden struck a balance of risky and safe picks and ended up with the most accurate bracket of nearly 1,000 entries. He will receive a $500 dollar gift card to the NCAA Shop. One additional randomly selected participant will receive a $100 dollar gift card to the NCAA Shop.

Beginning on November 26, Northwestern Mutual gave fans the first-ever opportunity to fill out online brackets to predict the winners of the NCAA Women’s Volleyball tournament. The contest represented the first time an NCAA Corporate Champion extended the excitement normally associated with Division I Men’s Basketball to other key championships. Northwestern Mutual will introduce additional NCAA bracket contests on Facebook throughout 2013 for Men’s Ice Hockey in April, Women’s Softball and Men’s Lacrosse in May, Men’s Baseball in June and Women’s Soccer in December.

“As a volleyball coach, I think it’s great that Northwestern Mutual is finding ways to spotlight other NCAA sports and get fans involved,” said Peden.“I found myself becoming even more invested in the tournament as I followed my bracket, and winning was an added bonus!”

All fans who entered a bracket received a unique Northwestern Mutual Risk and Reward Score based on their overall selection of upsets and favorites.  Peden received a score of 95, indicating he leaned toward picks with less risk. This was slightly higher than the majority of participants, where the average score was 87.6.

“Congratulations to Keith Peden for his outstanding selections in winning our NCAA volleyball bracket contest,” said Conrad York, vice president of marketing at Northwestern Mutual. “We were excited to see the passion of NCAA fans shine through and look forward to continuing to share our love of the game with upcoming bracket contests while offering fans a chance to see their risk scores.”

About Northwestern Mutual  

The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company – Milwaukee, WI (Northwestern Mutual) – among the "World's Most Admired" life insurance companies in 2012 according to FORTUNE® magazine – has helped clients achieve financial security for more than 155 years. As a mutual company with $1.3 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 and its subsidiaries offer a holistic approach to financial security solutions including: life insurance, long-term care insurance, disability 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; and Northwestern Long Term Care Insurance Company; and Russell Investments.

NCAA is a trademark of the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

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