Schnatter has been a power broker at the university for decades. His attorney, Steve Pence, declined comment. Ramsey, who led the university, its nonprofit foundation and the athletic association for more than 15 years, was ousted last year. “So he certainly would have been in position to make that agreement.” Ramsey was the president of our university, but he was also the chairman of the athletic association board of directors,” Klein said. He said he had no reason to believe Schnatter or former president Ramsey deliberately kept the new agreement from athletics. How could such a big-money move be a secret? Klein said he didn’t know. “I’m sure whatever issues are out there, they’ll be addressed and we’ll continue to move forward.” “We’ve had a great relationship with John and we’ve been very appreciative of his contributions and support of our athletic department over the years,” Klein said. Calls to spokesmen at Papa John’s and Schnatter’s real estate company were not returned. The criticism caused a media firestorm.Īthletics department spokesman Kenny Klein said Wednesday he’s unaware of any rift. In a university trustees meeting last month, the Papa John’s CEO and founder called athletic leadership “invisible” and raised questions about stadium expansion costs. The big-dollar loss for sports adds a new layer to the very public back-and-forth playing out among the university, its sports department and its wealthy booster. The department was unaware Schnatter pulled his donation until the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting requested records last week. The athletics department banked on the money to help fund the now-completed, $72 million renovation that added 13,000 seats to the stadium.īut apparently, nobody told athletics $1.5 million wasn’t coming. Schnatter chose instead to earmark the money for academics, according to a March 2016 agreement signed by Schnatter and former university president James Ramsey. Last year, Schnatter quietly pulled $1.5 million from a longstanding pledge to the athletic association for the expansion of the namesake Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium. But the powerful pizza magnate was speaking with his checkbook long before then. John Schnatter publicly criticized the leadership of the University of Louisville’s athletic department last month.
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