The Texas Longhorns have a new men’s basketball coach. Shaka Smart will leave VCU. Since taking the Rams to the final four in 2011, Smart, 37, has turned down multiple offers to leave VCU.
Smart received a seven-year contract, the first six fully guaranteed, for $3 million per year. He also becomes Texas’ first African-American basketball coach.
In six years at VCU, Smart led the Rams to a 163-56 record
Smart is married Maya Payne Smart, they have a daughter.
Maya is accomplished in her own right. Maya graduated from Harvard in 2002, and is a freelance journalist.
From the archives:
My interview with Shaka Smart on the red carpet at the ESPYS in 2011
