Contact:  Troy D. Cook
                      Vice President and Chief Financial Officer,
                                                NPC International
                                                   (913) 327-5555


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NPC INTERNATIONAL, INC. ANNOUNCES RECAPITALIZATION OF TONY ROMA'S
AND RE-IMAGING PLAN TO FOCUS ON CORE PIZZA HUT BUSINESS

Recapitalization of Tony Roma's; relocation, replacement or
closure of Pizza Hut units mark implementation of asset re-imaging plan

PITTSBURG, Kan. (April 27, 1998) - NPC International, Inc.
(NASDAQ: NPCI) today announced two significant strategic actions
that increase focus, improve financial flexibility and call for
significant reinvestment in the Company's Pizza Hut division.

NPC and Sentinel Capital Partners (Sentinel), a private equity
firm, have agreed to a recapitalization of NPC's wholly-owned
subsidiary, Romacorp, Inc. (Romacorp), whereby Romacorp will
redeem the equity held by NPC so that NPC's post recapitalization
holdings will be 10% of the equity of Romacorp.  Sentinel will
become the majority investor in Romacorp following the
recapitalization.  Romacorp owns, operates, and franchises Tony
Roma's "Famous for Ribs" restaurants.  Romacorp operates 45
company-owned restaurants and two joint-venture restaurants in 11
states.  Through its subsidiaries, Romacorp franchises 147 units,
of which 94 units are in the U.S. and 53 units are in
international locations.

NPC will receive approximately $121.5 million of consideration in
cash and stock from the recapitalization.  Subject to certain
adjustments, Romacorp will pay NPC a redemption price of
approximately $118 million, of which approximately $5 million is
contingent upon certain future events, and equity securities
valued at approximately $3.5 million.  The consummation of the
recapitalization is subject to Sentinel obtaining acceptable
financing terms and other customary conditions and approvals. 
The transaction is expected to close in NPC's first fiscal
quarter, ending June 30, 1998, and is expected to result in a
pre-tax gain of approximately $46 million ($29.5 million after-
tax or $1.17 per share) not including any potential future gains
from contingent consideration.  Schroder & Co., Inc. acted as
NPC's exclusive financial advisor in this matter.

NPC also announced plans to consolidate and relocate 53 Pizza Hut
units to 45 new locations to redefine trade areas, improve market
presence, and to upgrade certain assets to a more competitive
format.  Relocated units will be moved to improved trade areas
and fall into the following categories:  relocation of delivery
units to more visible locations and improved formats; relocation
of older dine-in assets within rural markets to new prototype
units; and conversions of certain metro markets to "Main-Path"
restaurants.


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Older delivery units in locations that are less visible will be
relocated to more inviting, carry-out friendly locations in areas
with improved visibility and higher traffic.

To better attract dine-in customers, the Company will relocate
older, mostly rural, dine-in units to better trade areas and
convert them to NPC's new Hattiesburg, Miss., dine-in prototype
or other prototype assets developed by Pizza Hut, Inc. (PHI) in
cooperation with the franchise community.  These units, which
largely target dine-in customers, have lighter and brighter
interiors and updated decors.

NPC also will convert two smaller metro markets to the Main-Path
concept, a new Pizza Hut format developed by PHI.  Main-Path
restaurants target metro to mid-metro markets and focus on
delivery, carry-out and drive-through customers, with only
limited dine-in seating.  In addition to the Company's core pizza
line, Main-Path restaurant menus also include sandwiches and an
expanded appetizer line.

NPC estimates it will invest between $7 million and $27 million
to relocate and convert the targeted restaurants depending upon
the capital sources used to finance the new development projects.

In addition to those restaurants listed above, the Company will
close 31 under-performing units.  The operations of another 112
low-volume units (mostly delivery/carry-out units) will be
consolidated with existing units.  To account for this initiative
and other asset valuation adjustments, the Company expects to
record a one-time, mostly non-cash charge estimated at
$14.1 million ($9 million after-tax or $.36 per share) in its
fiscal 1998 fourth quarter, ended March 31.

The Company plans to perform 25 to 35 extensive remodels
utilizing the formats consistent with the prototypes to be
deployed in the rural dine-in relocations.  The Company expects
to invest between $50,000 and $100,000 per unit in these remodel
activities during fiscal 1999.

The Company also announced that it expects to meet or exceed the
current consensus analysts' earnings estimate of $.22 per share,
before special charges, for the Company's fiscal fourth quarter.

The net proceeds from the anticipated recapitalization of
Romacorp will allow the Company to significantly improve its
financial flexibility, reducing debt by approximately $90 million
and significantly increasing the Company's borrowing capacity
available for re-investment.

Excluding the impact of the gain from the anticipated
recapitalization, and before accounting for any potential
earnings accretion that may arise from the redeployment of
capital, management estimates that the loss of Romacorp's
earnings, net of interest expense savings associated with the
debt reduction, will dilute fiscal 1999 earnings by approximately
$.10 per share.




<PAGE> 




"We are extremely pleased to enter into a partnership with
Sentinel to ensure the future growth and success of Romacorp and
the growth of the Tony Roma's brand.  As we have endeavored to
expand our Pizza Hut territories, we have chosen to limit Tony
Roma's access to capital.  This partnership will provide Romacorp
the capital necessary to aggressively grow the Tony Roma's
concept.  At the same time, this transaction allows NPC the
financial flexibility to invest in the re-imaging of our core
Pizza Hut business, while continuing to expand our Pizza Hut
territory through consolidation.  Furthermore, buoyed by our
success with Romacorp, we will continue to opportunistically
consider other investment opportunities," said Gene Bicknell,
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NPC International, Inc.

"Our investment in Tony Roma's nearly five years ago has proven
to be very favorable for our stockholders and employees.  With
our balance sheet strengthened, we look forward to the future of
NPC with great enthusiasm and optimism as we re-invest in our
Pizza Hut business.  These actions will provide the foundation
for the Company's future strategic direction and capital
spending," said Jim Schwartz, President and Chief Operating
Officer of NPC International, Inc.

NPC International, Inc. is the world's largest Pizza Hut
franchisee and currently operates 669 Pizza Hut restaurants (net
of 14 restaurants closed as part of the re-imaging strategy) and
delivery kitchens in 24 states.  Through Romacorp, Inc., a
wholly-owned subsidiary, NPC also operates and franchises 194
Tony Roma's restaurants, the casual theme restaurant "Famous for
Ribs."

With the exception of historical information, certain matters
discussed in this news release are forward-looking statements
that involve estimates, risks and uncertainties including, but
not limited to, economic conditions, consumer demand, the level
of and the effectiveness of marketing campaigns by the Company
and Pizza Hut, Inc., competitive conditions, food cost, labor
costs, new product introductions, product mix and pricing and
other risks indicated in filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission.










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                  ADDITIONAL CLOSURE INFORMATION

     Additional information regarding the Charge and NPC's asset
re-imaging strategy:

     I.   ESTIMATED COMPONENTS OF THE CHARGE:

          The Company expects to record a charge estimated at
          $14.1 million in its fourth fiscal quarter ending
          March 31, 1998.  The charge is expected to principally
          be comprised of the following components:

                            Unaudited

                                                       Pre-Tax 
                                            Units      Charge 

          Stores to be closed                95        $11,400
          Impairment of existing units       10          1,600
          Other asset write-downs            N/A         1,100
               Total Charge                            $14,100

     II.  Unit Activity:

          (1)  Following is a summary of the units to be closed:

               Closures  New Assets     Conversions    Net Change
Delivery         47(a)        10             4              (33)
Restaurants      48           35            (4)             (17)
     Total       95           45             0              (50)


          (a)  The operations of 11 of these assets will be
          consolidated within existing dine-in assets that will
          be converted to RBD (restaurant based delivery)
          locations.