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The Associated Press is reporting that John L. Smith, former UofL now Arkansas football coach, got in over his head with investments in land deals while living in Louisville.

Smith said his land investments began through acquaintances while he was the coach at Louisville from 1998-2002, starting with one subdivision development and evolving from there.

As the real estate market began to slow several years ago, Smith said, he and his partners faced a difficult time maintaining their investments.

“It just got big,” Smith said, who described his stake as being 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.”

 

More here.
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By Charlie Springer

Charlie Springer is a former Louisville editor and sportswriter, a public affairs consultant, a UofL grad and longtime fan.

5 thoughts on “John L Smith facing bankruptcy”
  1. Guessing that John L. will no longer be in the soup line after taking the Arkansas job. He did resurrect us from the Cooper years and I’ll always be grateful to him for that.

  2. Unfortunately, the downturn in the real estate market has caused many bankruptcies locally, including among some very experienced real estate investors. I’m sorry to hear that it has happened to John L. Although he left us on a sour note, I wish him no ill-will. I’m thankful for the good that happened to our program while he was here.

  3. Fortunately we have an exceptional individual in Charlie Strong. Many football coaches aren’t smart doing much else.

  4. I guess John L. knows his place in the financial food-chain no. What a stupid smuck!

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