The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper The Spokesman-Review
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
Current Temperature
50°F
Current Conditions
Overcast clouds
View complete weather report
Subscribe now

Kentucky State hires John L. Smith to coach Thorobreds

In a Saturday, Oct. 13, 2012 file photo, Arkansas coach John L. Smith watches from the sideline during the third quarter of an NCAA college football game against Kentucky in Fayetteville, Ark. Smith, the former Idaho and Louisville head coach, stepped in after Bobby Petrino was fired following a motorcycle accident that led to revelations of an affair with a female employee. (April L Brown / AP)
In a Saturday, Oct. 13, 2012 file photo, Arkansas coach John L. Smith watches from the sideline during the third quarter of an NCAA college football game against Kentucky in Fayetteville, Ark. Smith, the former Idaho and Louisville head coach, stepped in after Bobby Petrino was fired following a motorcycle accident that led to revelations of an affair with a female employee. (April L Brown / AP)

APNewsNow. Should stand.

FRANKFORT, Ky. – Kentucky State has hired former Louisville and Arkansas coach John L. Smith to rebuild the NCAA Division II Thorobreds.

Smith, 67, was 14-19 the past three seasons at D-II Fort Lewis (Colorado) College. He was 41-21 at Louisville from 1998-2002, 22-26 at Michigan State from `03-’06 and 4-8 at Arkansas in 2012 after replacing Bobby Petrino, his former offensive coordinator with the Cardinals.

Petrino was fired that April for misleading school officials about a motorcycle accident that revealed his mistress was a passenger. He returned to Louisville in 2014 and is 16-7 in two seasons there.

Smith was a head coach at the University of Idaho (1989-94) and was also an assistant at Washington State.

Smith replaces Josh Dean at KSU and promised during Monday’s introductory news conference that he will throw the ball. He added, “we have to identify what we’ve done well in the past and adapt.”