Kentucky Sports Radio
[Moderated by Matt Jones, Drew Franklin and Tyler Thompson]
[Moderated by Matt Jones, Drew Franklin and Tyler Thompson]
John L. Smith is a football coach. He’s not a businessman.
And that’s exactly what the Arkansas head football coach is saying right now as he makes plans to declare bankruptcy. Smith, who used to coach at the University of Louisville, made some bad real estate moves back in Kentucky and now he is paying the price.
“From a personal standpoint, I don’t want the university being embarrassed. But I’m not embarrassed,” Smith said. “It’s something that’s happened. I made some mistakes, and to be honest with you, I’m a football coach, not a businessman.”
Smith’s land investments in Kentucky began with one subdivision development and evolved from there. As the real estate market went south, Smith and his partners struggled to stay on top. He describes his stake in the ”multi-millions.”
“It was a situation where we all made a little and said, ‘Well, that’s good. Let’s see if we can make a little more,’” he said. “At that point, the bank was willing to give away money. We got in over our head with land, and then the bubble burst and all this land value dropped and we couldn’t sustain it.”
It says a lot about the guy that he can man up and acknowledge mistakes he made in his past and face the consequences publicly. It looks like Arkansas got the complete opposite of its last head football coach.
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Bill Keightley Report : Never to be forgotten.
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July 5th, 2012 at 11:50 am
hmm, right after Bobby Petrino declared moral bankruptcy…
July 5th, 2012 at 11:52 am
Say it ain’t so Johnny!!
NJT does not think this bodes well for the Wildcats.
July 5th, 2012 at 12:06 pm
Lot smarter people than John L. tanked during the reccesion. At least he blew it while chasing the American dream, not some Arkansas nookie.
July 5th, 2012 at 12:07 pm
I heard the committee that hires coaches in Arkansas consists of: a sex offender, a prostitute, a crook, a crack head, and O.range J.uice Simpson.
July 5th, 2012 at 12:24 pm
Good, I’m glad karma is catching up with this pompous bastich. I remember his comments against UK when he got the Michigan State job (that he bumbled predictably). Fortunately I am an Ohio State fan as well and they got raped by the Buckeyes EVERY time they met. I hope we drag Arkansas now that he’s the head coach. Dag nab it!!!
July 5th, 2012 at 12:34 pm
This is what happens when greed & stupidity take over. When you don’t know what you’re doing, it’s fatal !!
July 5th, 2012 at 12:39 pm
Did Arkansas really use that background for the interview? If so, that is awesome.
July 5th, 2012 at 12:39 pm
@ #5, are you really calling out Karma in the same breathe and admitting you’re a “the OSU” fan???? LMAO… NICE
July 5th, 2012 at 1:17 pm
7) Photoshop
July 5th, 2012 at 1:19 pm
Arkansas is sponsored by Hasbro’s Monopoly board game?
July 5th, 2012 at 1:25 pm
Yeah he can face up to it and do the right think and pay his bills. Filing bruptcy is the easy way out for him only.
July 5th, 2012 at 3:47 pm
He didn’t make any mistakes. If the economy hadn’t tanked he would probably be fine. It’s been almost 4 years since real estate took a dive with no end in sight at this point. Most everyone who’s living depends on real estate development is hurting right now.
July 5th, 2012 at 4:45 pm
I admire the guy for being honest and admitting that he was in over his head. He obviously had his portfolio weighted much too strongly toward real-estate and was drawn in by the lure of easy money from the banks. I have no doubt that his group of “investors” were some of the same set that hang around every high-paid coach, professional athlete, movie star or other person who has made a fortune in something other than investing. Our “lottery economy” has produced a huge number of these kinds of people. Obviously some of these “investors” are competent, and many others are just trying to use or take advantage of people who really don’t know any better in order to place very large speculative bets. That’s one of the things that I like about Coach Cal. It seems like he’s got some smart people around him, is pretty savvy in his own right, and tries to properly prepare his players for the crazy situations that they will face.
July 5th, 2012 at 5:01 pm
Drew, stick with KSR, because you know nothing about the real world! John L. Smith is taking the easy way out with bankruptcy, by sticking the bank with the money that he owes! When you let someone else pay for your mistake, you are no better than Bobby P.. John L Smith is just another dirt bag!
July 7th, 2012 at 9:06 am
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