Kent State football coach Kenni Burns is in nearly $24,000 of credit card debt, as determined by a default judgment Nov. 13 in a lawsuit filed by Kent’s Hometown Bank.
Burns owes the bank $23,852.09, with a yearly interest rate of 13.5%, after he allegedly breached his credit card agreement and spent over the $20,000 limit set on his Hometown Bank Mastercard, according to complaints by Hometown Bank in Portage County Court of Common Pleas documents.
It would take the second-year Flashes’ coach, who carries a 1-22 record with the program, about 33 years to pay the debt in full if he pays the minimum payment each month and about three years if he pays $809 each month, as listed in the credit card statement in the court docket. This season, Burns will make $475,000 as the Flashes’ coach.
Kent State’s Athletics Department had no comment for KentWired as of Wednesday night.
In a comment to CBS Sports from its Nov. 20 article about the lawsuit, Burns said, “My wife and I are aware of a legal matter involving debt related to paying off a recent remodel and move. We are working swiftly to address this matter.”
Court documents did not provide what Burns had purchased to go into debt.
Hometown Bank, located at 142 N. Water St., began the lawsuit Sept. 13 after filing a complaint against the coach for accumulating the alleged $23,852.09. As stated in the court documents, the bank said he did not make his minimum monthly credit card payments.
“Although demand has been made upon Burns to liquidate the balance due and owing, Burns has failed to do so,” Hometown Bank said in Portage County court documents.
Burns received a default judgment since he did not respond to the initial complaint or plead otherwise to the charge, court documents said. Burns has no prior cases against him in Portage County in the court’s records.
Kenni Burns’ tenure with Kent State
Burns came to Kent State in 2023 after a stint with the University of Minnesota as assistant head coach and running backs coach. He had no instances of compiling large sums of debt while in Minnesota, according to Hennepin County court records.
The former Indiana running back has led Kent State to an 0-11 season this year, with the team’s last game set for 7 p.m. Tuesday at Buffalo.
Kent State is the only winless program in the FBS this season, and the team has yet to win a conference game under Burns. The Flashes rank last in the Mid-American Conference.
Burns’ contract with the team goes until the 2028 season after a one-year, $515,000 contract extension was made following the end of the 2023 season.
John Hilber is sports editor. Contact him at [email protected].
