Cardinal Stadium is Papa John's to name, but pressure mounts to change it

Tim Sullivan | Courier Journal

Show Caption Hide Caption U of L president says school will evaluate Papa John's stadium name University of Louisville President Neeli Bendapudi says school officials will evaluate the naming rights for Papa John's Cardinal Stadium

Contractually, the right to change the name of Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium belongs exclusively to Papa John himself.

Pragmatically, external pressures are mounting on John Schnatter to remove his polarizing brand from the University of Louisville’s football stadium.

Thursday, U of L President Neeli Bendapudi expressed her disappointment in Schnatter, adding her voice to others, including tweets from the accounts of football players Jaylen Smith and Seth Dawkins, in a growing chorus of criticism following Schnatter’s admission and apology for using a racial slur during a corporate conference call.

Related: Two Louisville football players want Papa John's name off the stadium

“Any time that your university is mentioned in less than glowing terms, as the president of the university, it’s disappointing,” Bendapudi said. “... I am sure that he will say that he is sorry that he has hurt so many people, including – I know – students that he cares a great deal about.”

In return for donations pledged prior to the stadium’s construction, the university agreed to its original corporate name and provided Schnatter the right to request changes no more than once every five years.

That deal, which was due to expire after the stadium had been open for 15 years, was subsequently extended through Dec. 31, 2040, in consideration of donations from Schnatter totaling $14 million and an additional $6 million from the Papa John’s corporate coffers.

Neither the original document nor any of its three amended versions includes language that would allow the university to unilaterally change the name. Still, Schnatter’s pattern is to retreat quickly in the face of attacks.

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He resigned his board seat on the U of L Athletic Association in April, 2017, following criticism of his public complaints about athletic department leadership and finances. He resigned from U of L’s Board of Trustees on Wednesday within hours of apologizing for using the N-word during a media training session.

“It would be very easy and politically correct for me to say this is horrible and all the rest, and it wasn’t very discreet, but he showed a lot of class in resigning,” former U of L trustee Bill Stone said. “He did not put U of L through a contentious, arduous debate. Based on what I know, based on where we are at this moment in time, U of L should cool it on changing the name of the stadium ...

“I have no evidence and nobody has any evidence that John Schnatter is a racist. He’s accomplished a lot of things and created a lot of jobs. I think we have got to measure people by the sum total of their life, not a remark.”

Other U of L constituents were less forgiving. Louisville professor Ricky Jones, addressing the potential discomfort of African-American football players in a stadium named for Schnatter’s company, Tweeted, "Anybody with a moral compass would see how that’s a little ... shall we say ... problematic."

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Social media accounts registered to a pair of U of L wide receivers echoed Jones’ concerns.

"We need to change the name of the stadium ASAP, I'm not here for it," the Dawkins’ tweet said.

"AT ALL," the post on Smith's account responded.

U of L athletic director Vince Tyra did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“I believe we should move slowly and carefully,” Stone said. “In six months, if (football coach) Bobby Petrino reports that’s an issue, then you have to do something about it.”

“Papa” John Schnatter's latest scandal is leaving a lasting impact on universities, small towns and nonprofits.

Since launching a pizza empire from his family's Jeffersonville bar in 1984s, Schnatter has donated millions of dollars, with his name or his company’s affixed to everything from local gymnasiums to major university football stadiums.

Here's how some of the entities he's helped are responding to Schnatter's crash and burn.

UK wants Schnatter to address issue further

The latest: University of Kentucky cuts ties with Schnatter after N-word comment

The University of Kentucky has a research and teaching center named after Schnatter that were founded through donations from the Papa John’s founder and the Charles Koch Foundation. (Charles Koch and his brother David Koch are billionaire donors to conservative political causes.)

UK’s program is called the John H. Schnatter Institute for the Study of Free Enterprise.

UK also has the John H. Schnatter Atrium, a community study and gathering space central to the school’s Gatton College of Business and Economics, according to university spokesman Jay Blanton.

Blanton did not say whether UK is considering changing the name of the free enterprise institute or the atrium. He did provide this statement about Schnatter’s use of a racial slur: “Without question, the language reported in the conference call is unacceptable and has no place in our community. We look forward to Mr. Schnatter further addressing this issue in response to the heavy criticism he is rightly receiving.”

UK, like U of L, has a formal agreement in place regarding its free enterprise center.

Jeffersonville says "no thanks"

Jeffersonville Mayor Mike Moore has decided to return a $400,000 donation from Schnatter, and to pull his name from a historic gym.

"Thinking things over, I don't want his money," Moore told the Courier Journal.

The donation was part of an agreement to donate $800,000 over time to help renovate the Nachand Fieldhouse, a decades-old gym Moore calls a "safe haven" for local children. Last year it was renamed to the John H. Schnatter — Nachand Fieldhouse.

Moore ordered Schnatter's name removed from the building Wednesday afternoon after Forbes reported that Schnatter used a racial slur. He added that if Schnatter tries to pay the remaining $400,000, the city will return it.

Purdue assesses the situation

In April, Purdue University announced it would rename the 3-year-old Purdue Research Center in Economics to the John H. Schnatter Center for Economic Research after Schnatter donated $8 million.

As of Thursday, Purdue had not announced any plans to change the name or return the donation.

“We operate the economic center with a commitment to the Purdue values of tolerance and respect for those of all races and backgrounds,” Tim Newton, director of external relations and communications in the Krannert School of Management, told the Lafayette Journal & Courier. “We will continue to assess the situation while reinforcing our values to all those affiliated with the center."

In March 2017, Schnatter made a trip to West Lafayette for a Q&A session with Purdue President Mitch Daniels to talk business, pizza and kissing Peyton Manning.

Ball State says it's still too soon

Schnatter also has an economics program in his name at his alma mater. But Ball State officials told the Muncie Star Press it's too early to comment or act.

"It is premature for us to comment or act upon the specific incident involving John Schnatter," BSU spokesperson Kathy Wolf said in a statement. "At Ball State, our alumni, faculty, staff and students are committed to the Beneficence Pledge which encourages us 'to act in a socially responsible way' and 'pledge to value the intrinsic worth of every member of the community.' "

Schnatter graduated from Ball State with a major in business administration in 1983. In 2015, he was given an honorary doctorate of laws and spoke at Ball State's commencement.

Tim Sullivan: 502-582-4650, tsullivan@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @TimSullivan714. Reporters Morgan Watkins and the IndyStar, Muncie Star and Journal & Courier contributed to this story. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: www.courier-journal.com/tims