Briles: Financier's suicide no distraction

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HOUSTON, July 20 (UPI) -- Baylor football Coach Art Briles said Wednesday he isn't being distracted by the apparent suicide of a financier with whom he and other coaches had invested.

Briles, speaking to a group of Baylor alumni at the J.W. Marriott Hotel in Houston, said he's focused on the upcoming season rather than the death of David Salinas, whose body was discovered Sunday, the Houston Chronicle reported.

Salinas, 60, was under investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission involving a series of investments he made on behalf some of the nation's top former and current college football coaches, Sports Illustrated reported.

SI said documents indicated Briles' exposure with Salinas could be as much as $780,000.

"This hit us all like a ton of bricks," the coach said. "We had no idea, of course, at all, so a lot of people are affected, without a doubt."

Briles indicated he would let his attorneys determine whether he and fellow mentors such as Billy Gillispie of Texas Tech, Lute Olson of Arizona and Willis Wilson of Rice were victims of a Ponzi scheme, the Chronicle reported.