AUSTIN, Texas — Multiple media reports indicate that Texas men's basketball coach Shaka Smart is in the process of accepting the head coaching job at Marquette.
CBS Sports.com indicates that Smart has reached an agreement in principleto become the Golden Eagles' head coach.
And ESPN.com reports a deal is expected to be done immediately.
Smart, 43, had been the head coach at Texas for six seasons.
The move comes less than a week after Smart's Longhorns team was upset by No. 15 seed Abilene Christian in the NCAA Tournament in one of the most stunning losses in school history. It ended a 19-8 season where they won the Big 12 postseason tournament for the first time in school history and finished the regular season ranked ninth in the country.
Smart's Texas team won the NIT championship in 2019 but had lost its first NCAA tournament game all three seasons it made the tournament.
Before coming to Texas, Smart coached at VCU for six seasons. He took the Rams to the 2011 Final Four in his second season as head coach there.
The Austin American-Statesman reports that Smart has two years remaining on his Texas contractthat is worth an estimated $7.1 million in guaranteed money.
His record at Texas is 109-86, but a disappointing 51-56 record in Big 12 plays. Smart's teams were 20-40 against ranked opponents.
The move to Marquette is intriguing to Smart because he is a native of nearby Madison, Wisc. Marquette has a storied basketball legacy with an NCAA tournament championship in 1977. It was the school where NBA legend Dwyane Wade played.
