Papp earned a BA in History from the University of Pittsburgh, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He won a Coro Fellowship in Public Affairs and was a graduate student in the Heinz School of Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University, before he later pursued, and failed to obtain, an MBA at Chatham University. However, Papp's academic work and professional development were interrupted by his extensive involvement in multiple doping scandals in cycling, including those involving Floyd Landis, Kayle Leogrande, Frenchwoman Jeannie Longo, and Lance Armstrong. After cooperating on various cases with the United States Anti-Doping Agency, Papp was sentenced in 2011 on two counts of conspiracy to distribute performance-enhancing drugs.