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John L. Smith Named Michigan State's 23rd Head Football Coach
Dec. 19, 2002 EAST LANSING, Mich. - John L. Smith, who ranks No. 14 among active NCAA I-A football coaches with 110 career wins and has led his last six teams to bowl games, has been named Michigan State University's 23rd head coach. Smith will be formally introduced at a press conference scheduled for 6:30 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 19, in the Clara Bell Smith Student-Athlete Academic Center auditorium. The 54-year-old Smith has compiled a 110-60 record (.647) in 14 years as a college head coach, including an impressive 71-25 mark (.740) in conference games. He has produced six conference championships (two Conference USA, two Big West and two Big Sky). Eleven of his 14 teams have participated in postseason play. Smith comes to Michigan State following five seasons at Louisville (1998-2002) where he led the Cardinals to unprecedented success. He put together a 41-21 worksheet (.661), including five straight bowl appearances and back-to-back Conference USA titles in 2000-01. The five bowl trips equaled the number of postseason appearances Louisville had made prior to his arrival and the five consecutive winning seasons marked a first for the program. Here's how Smith fared during his tenure as head coach at Louisville: · The 2002 Cardinals went 7-6 overall, including last night's 38-15 loss to Marshall in the GMAC Bowl. Louisville finished third in the C-USA standings at 5-3, one game behind co-champions Texas Christian and Cincinnati. The highlight of the 2002 season came on Sept. 26 when the Cardinals knocked off No. 4 Florida State in overtime, 26-20. Louisville ranked among the NCAA's regular-season leaders in rushing defense (No. 23 at 114.2 yards per game) and total defense (No. 23 at 317.6 ypg.). The Cardinals produced a league-best six first-team All-Conference USA selections, including Offensive Player of the Year Dave Ragone (quarterback) and Special Teams Player of the Year Broderick Clark (kick returner). · In 2001, Smith earned Conference USA Coach of the Year honors after leading Louisville to a school-record 11 victories, including a 28-10 triumph over Brigham Young in the Liberty Bowl. Louisville became the first program in C-USA history to win back-to-back league titles while Ragone and defensive end Dewayne White became the first C-USA players from the same school to receive offensive and defensive player of the year honors in the same season. The Cardinals were ranked among the Associated Press Top 25 for seven straight weeks, finishing No. 17 (No. 16 in USA Today/ESPN final poll). · The 2000 team won its last four regular-season games to claim Louisville's first Conference USA championship and a berth in the Liberty Bowl. Louisville finished 9-3 overall, posting its most wins since 1993, while also making its first appearance in the national polls in seven years. The 2000 Cardinals featured a high-scoring offense and a relentless defense. Louisville averaged better than 35 points per game during the regular season, scoring touchdowns 73 percent of the time it reached the red zone. The Cardinals also ranked among the NCAA's leaders in rushing defense (No. 4) and total defense (No. 15). Louisville's defense led the nation in turnovers forced with 37, including 10 interceptions from All-America safety Anthony Floyd. · In 1999, Louisville won four of its last five regular-season games en route to a 7-5 record overall, 4-2 in C-USA play. For the second year in a row, the Cardinals were listed among the nation's top 10 in scoring, passing offense and total offense. Six players earned first-team All-Conference USA honors while five rookies were named to the all-freshman team. · The revival of Louisville's football program began in 1998. Smith inherited a team that went winless in the league and finished 1-10 in 1997 and produced the biggest turnaround among NCAA I-A programs in 1998 by guiding the Cardinals to a 7-5 record overall, 4-2 in C-USA action. Louisville led the nation in total offense, averaging 560 yards per game, while also ranking among the NCAA leaders in passing offense (No. 3) and scoring (40.4 points per game). The Cardinals topped the 50-point mark four times in 1998, including three 60-point games. Quarterback Chris Redman finished second in the nation in total offense, averaging 400.9 yards per game. Louisville broke or tied 84 school or C-USA records in Smith's first season. Prior to his appointment at Louisville, Smith posted a 16-18 ledger (.471) in three seasons at Utah State. He took over a Utah State program that had produced only two winning seasons in the previous 15 years and led the Aggies to consecutive Big West Conference crowns in 1996-97, finishing 6-5 and 6-6, respectively. In 1997, Utah State won four of its last five regular-season games and earned a trip to the Humanitarian Bowl. It marked the program's second bowl appearance since 1961. In 1997, the Aggies were listed among the NCAA leaders in rushing defense (No. 25). In 1996, Utah State forged a 6-5 overall mark despite facing a demanding non-league schedule, with home games against Utah and Brigham Young and road contests at Southern Miss, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech. The Aggies ranked among the nation's top 10 in passing offense (No. 7 at 317.5 yards per game) and total offense (No. 9 at 468.5 ypg.). The Aggies compiled a 4-7 record overall in 1995 but narrowly missed posting a winning season, losing four games by a combined total of 14 points. Smith's one-back offense produced impressive numbers in 1995, with Utah State ranking among the NCAA leaders in passing offense (No. 14 at 270.5 ypg.) and total offense (No. 16 at 434.2). The defense certainly did its share to keep the Aggies in the Big West title race, allowing fewer than 16 points per game in league play. Utah State finished among the league leaders in every defensive category - second in total defense, second in passing defense and third in rushing defense. A native of Idaho Falls, Idaho, Smith arrived at Utah State following six seasons at the University of Idaho where he became the winningest coach in school history. His six-year mark of 53-21 (.716) at Idaho included a 34-11 Big Sky Conference record (.756) and five postseason appearances, including three straight trips to the NCAA I-AA playoffs from 1992-94. Those five playoff teams also finished the year ranked among the nation's top 20. His 1994 team won its first seven games, including a 48-38 road victory over eventual Big West Conference champion UNLV, en route to a 9-3 record, a trip to the I-AA playoffs and No. 8 final ranking. His 1993 squad climbed to No. 1 in the polls following a 28-17 victory at Utah. Idaho lost to eventual national champion Youngstown State, 35-16, in the I-AA semifinals to end up 11-3 (No. 11 final ranking). The Vandals led the nation in both scoring (47.5 points) and total offense (532.0 yards). His 1992 team won the Big Sky Conference title with a 6-1 record, finished the year ranked fifth nationally and its 9-3 ledger included an impressive road victory over Colorado State, 37-34. Idaho again was listed among the national leaders in total offense (second at 490.0 yards) and scoring (third at 40.6 points). His 1991 ballclub went 6-5 and ranked second nationally in passing offense (336.3 yards) and third in total offense (482.4 yards). His 1990 team put together a seven game winning streak on its way to a 9-4 record and No. 13 national ranking. Idaho lost to eventual national champion Georgia Southern, 28-27, in the I-AA quarterfinals. The Vandals ranked among the national leaders in scoring (second at 37.2 points) and total offense (fifth at 454.6 yards). His 1989 team won a school-record nine straight games and became the first team in Big Sky Conference history to complete the league schedule with a perfect 8-0 record. The team finished the year ranked fourth nationally at 9-3. Smith tutored 12 first-team All-Americans at Idaho, including Walter Payton Award (I-AA Player of the Year) winners John Friesz (1989) and Doug Nussmeier (1993). Prior to taking over the Idaho head coaching position, Smith spent two years as the defensive coordinator and assistant head coach at Washington State (1987-88) where he served under Miami (Fla.) and current Oregon State head coach Dennis Erickson. He was Erickson's defensive coordinator and assistant head coach at Wyoming during the 1986 season. Smith began his first stint at Idaho in 1982 where he again served as Erickson's defensive coordinator and assistant head coach for four years (1982-85). His college coaching credits also include stops at Nevada (1977-81) and Montana (1972-76). During his tenure as defensive coordinator at Nevada, the Wolf Pack led the nation in total defense, scoring defense and rushing defense in 1980. He began his coaching career in 1971 as a graduate assistant at Weber State. A linebacker and quarterback at Weber State, Smith earned Big Sky Conference scholar-athlete honors in 1971-72. He received his undergraduate degree in physical education with a minor in math in 1971. Smith earned a master's of science degree in physical education from the University of Montana in 1974. Married to the former Diana Flora of Idaho Falls, Smith and his wife are the parents of three children, Nicholas (23), Kayse (20) and Sam (19).
THE SMITH FILE
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BOWL/POSTSEASON EXPERIENCE: Smith's Career Record Overall Conference Year School W L Pct. W L Pct. Finish Bowl/Postseason (Final Rank) 1989 Idaho 9 3 .750 8 0 1.000 1st I-AA Playoffs (No. 4) 1990 Idaho 9 4 .692 6 2 .750 2nd I-AA Playoffs (No. 13) 1991 Idaho 6 5 .545 4 4 .500 t-4th 1992 Idaho 9 3 .750 6 1 .857 1st I-AA Playoffs (No. 5) 1993 Idaho 11 3 .786 5 2 .714 2nd I-AA Playoffs (No. 11) 1994 Idaho 9 3 .750 5 2 .714 t-2nd I-AA Playoffs (No. 8) 1995 Utah State 4 7 .364 4 2 .667 t-2nd 1996 Utah State 6 5 .545 4 1 .800 t-1st 1997 Utah State 6 6 .500 4 2 .667 t-1st Humanitarian Bowl 1998 Louisville 7 5 .583 4 2 .667 3rd Motor City Bowl 1999 Louisville 7 5 .583 4 2 .667 t-2nd Humanitarian Bowl 2000 Louisville 9 3 .750 6 1 .857 1st Liberty Bowl 2001 Louisville 11 2 .846 6 1 .857 1st Liberty Bowl (No. 17) 2002 Louisville 7 6 .538 5 3 .625 3rd GMAC Bowl Totals 110 60 .647 71 25 .740
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