The founder and chief executive of Papa John’s International, 51-year-old John Schnatter is one of Ball States star alums.
Schnatter was born in Jeffersonville, Indiana and graduated from Jeffersonville High School in 1980. He then earned a business degree from Ball State University in 1983 – the same year the Papa John’s pizza business was founded.
To get his business rolling, Schnatter resorted to selling his 1971 Z28 Camaro to purchase $1,600 worth of used pizza equipment and began selling pizzas to customers out of the converted broom closet in the back of his father’s tavern. His pizzas proved so popular that one year later he was able to move into an a space nearby.
In 2009, Schnatter got the Camaro back by contacting the family that he sold the car to in 1983. Today, the company is the third largest take-out and pizza delivery restaurant chain in the world with its headquarters in Jeffersontown, Kentucky, near Louisville.