After leading the Marquette Golden Eagles to their first top-10 finish in the AP Poll since 2003, head coach Shaka Smart and the University of Marquette have reached a contract extension.
First reported by John Fanta of College Basketball on Fox and The Field of 68, Smart’s new contract with the Golden Eagles extends him through the 2029-2030 season. The university later announced the extension via GoMarqutte.com.
“In a very short period of time, Shaka and his staff have done a tremendous job of establishing a winning culture, both on and off the court,” Marquette Vice President & Director of Athletics Bill Scholl said in the press release. “Shaka’s vision for the program is focused on extended, sustainable success. The individuals who interact with the team on a daily basis are able to observe frequent examples of growth and the excitement around the program is contagious.”
The 2022-2023 season was Smart’s second season with the program after coming to the program for the 20221-2022 season. In that first season with the Golden Eagles, he led them to a 19-13 record and an NCAA Tournament berth as a nine-seed.
Marquette is Smart’s third head coaching job. He previously coached at VCU from 2009-2010 through 2014-2015 where he led the Rams to five straight NCAA tournament appearances including a Final Four berth in 2011. He would lead VCU for Texas in 2015-2016 where he had much less success, making the NCAA Tournament just three times in six seasons. He would decide to leave Austin for Marquette following the 2021 season, signing a six-year deal with the university at the time.