Arkansas interim football coach John L. Smith files for bankruptcy
Arkansas interim football coach John L. Smith filed for bankruptcy. (Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
Arkansas Sports 360 is reporting that Arkansas interim football coach John L. Smith filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation today. Smith listed estimated assets between $1 million and $10 million, and debts between $10 million and $50 million.
University officials have been aware of Smith's financial woes, since naming him as the interim replacement for fired coach Bobby Petrino in April. Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long said Smith was up front about his financial problems during the hiring process.
"Certainly, initially, I had concerns, but as he explained the situation to me, it clearly became a bad investment," Long said. "There's a large differentiation for me between what we had just gone through and someone who had made a bad financial decision and put himself in a financial difficulty. But at the same there, there was nothing inappropriate other than he had engaged in a risky financial deal."
