In brief: Former Idaho coach Smith faces bankruptcy

College football: John L. Smith always believed real estate development was the safest investment of all, saying, “You may not make money, but you won’t lose money.”

The Arkansas coach has had to rethink that belief in recent years after several of his land deals went bust in Kentucky. Smith said that he is making plans to declare bankruptcy, perhaps during the upcoming season.

“There have been some sleepless nights trying to get this resolved,” said Smith, who was Idaho’s head coach from 1989-94 and Washington State’s defensive coordinator in 1987-88. “There comes a point in time where you say, ‘Enough is enough,’ and I want it cleaned up and whatever we have to do, we have to do.”

Smith, also a former coach at Michigan State and Louisville, was hired in April to replace Bobby Petrino, who was fired after revelations that he had hired his mistress to a position in the football department and given her $20,000 in gifts. Smith was an Arkansas assistant for three seasons under Petrino before leaving in December to become the coach at his alma mater, Weber State.

Arkansas signed Smith to a 10-month, $850,000 contract.

Associated Press

Lilac City tees off today

Golf: Former champion Storm Gleim and perennial contender Todd Pence of Cheney are among the competitors for the four-day Lilac City Invitational, which begins today at Fairways Golf Course.

The Lilac, a long-time fixture for professional and amateur golfers from around the Western United States, is making its return after a five-year interlude.

“The golf course is in absolutely fantastic condition right now” Fairways general manager Kris Kallem said. “Given the improvements we have made over the past five years, it will be interesting to see how low the numbers are.”