The University of Louisville hasn’t always acted quickly to public relations nightmares, but it deserves credit for moving fast on Papa John’s Stadium.
Next season, members of the Louisville football program will play in a home stadium with a new name. Instead of playing their home games in Papa John’s Stadium, they will call Cardinal Stadium home for the 2018 campaign.
University President Neeli Bendapudi made the announcement on Friday that the name change will take immediate effect. The move, of course, is directly related to news that the pizza chain’s founder, John Schnatter, is guilty of using a racial slur on a business call on at least one occasion. Schnatter was the lead donor for the construction of the new stadium back in 1998.
Schnatter’s decision to resign as a University Trustee likely made it a lot easier for Bendapudi and the rest of the school’s administration to make this decision. By doing so, he essentially admitted his guilt and opened the door for future actions.
Louisville announces that it is taking Papa John's off the name of the football stadium. Name will revert to Cardinal Stadium. That was swift.
— Pat Forde (@ByPatForde) July 13, 2018
The fact that numerous Louisville football players also expressed serious displeasure at the prospect of playing in Papa John’s Stadium next year also played a role in the decision. Their outcries may not have been enough to force the change on their own, but when added to the public pressure on the University to distance itself from Schnatter, they became a powerful combination.
It’s always tough for a university dependent on private support to turn its back on a powerful donor, but Louisville made the right choice in this instance. Moving forward with someone with Schattner’s baggage could have cost the school through a variety of other channels. As much as we’d all like to believe this is a moral choice by Louisville, an element of it is financially driven, as well.
Next: Alabama loses star linebacker to injury
Opponents traveling to Louisville next year won’t have to face the awkward task of playing in Papa John’s Stadium. The facility will continue as Cardinal Stadium for the time being.