Shaka Smart leaves Texas for Marquette
AUSTIN, Texas — After six seasons as the men’s basketball coach at the University of Texas, Shaka Smart is leaving UT to become the head coach at Marquette University, according to a press release from the Marquette athletic department.
"I can't tell you how thrilled I am to welcome Shaka, his wife Maya, and their daughter Zora to the Marquette and Milwaukee communities," Vice President and Director of Athletics Bill Scholl said. "We undertook an exhaustive national search, during which we discussed our opening with a significant number of highly-qualified coaches."
Smart’s tenure at UT was marked by some major victories on the recruiting trail and shortcomings in the postseason. During Smart’s six seasons at UT, the Longhorns went 109-86 (.559) and made NCAA appearances in 2016, 2018 and 2021. The Longhorns won the 2019 NIT but never won an NCAA tournament game, despite his ability to land high-profile recruits like Jarrett Allen, Mo Bamba, Matt Coleman and Greg Brown.
The move to Marquette represents a homecoming of sorts for Smart, who was born in Madison, which is about 80 miles west of Milwaukee.
"Maya, Zora and I are absolutely thrilled to join the Marquette family," Smart said. "I'm grateful to President (Michael) Lovell and Bill School for entrusting me with the growth and development of this storied basketball program and the student-athletes who make it so special. I am extremely excited to get to Milwaukee to begin building relationships and getting to work on the court!"
Smart will be formally introduced at a press conference Monday in Milwaukee.
