Texas' coaching search lasted less than a week.
Virginia Commonwealth coach Shaka Smart will be the new Longhorns basketball coach, according to multiple reports late Thursday night.
Texas athletic director Steve Patterson flew to Richmond, Va. on Thursday afternoon in hopes of returning to the 40 Acres with his pick to replace Rick Barnes.
His hopes were realized.
Smart held a team meeting at 10 p.m. local time and informed his team of his plans to accept the job at Texas, according to reports.
Smart, 37, was a former assistant coach under Billy Donovan at Florida and became the head coach at VCU in 2009. He won at least 26 games in all six seasons and was 163-56 overall. His team reached the Final Four in 2011, his first trip to the NCAA Tournament as a head coach.
VCU reached the Round of 32 in the two following seasons before first round losses in 2014 and 2015.
He had drawn interest from programs like UCLA, Illinois and Minnesota in recent offseasons.
Barnes was fired over the weekend after 17 seasons as Texas' coach. He's the school's all-time wins leader, but had not reached the Sweet 16 or won a share of the Big 12 title since a trip to the Elite Eight in 2008.
Tennessee announced on Tuesday that it had hired Barnes.
Smart's teams are known for their fast-paced, full-court-pressing style he calls "havoc." He reportedly earned $1.57 million per season at VCU, before performance bonuses. Texas will owe VCU a $500,000 buyout as a part of his contract.
Multiple reports pegged his new contract at Texas in the vicinity of $3 million per year.
Both Smart and Texas football coach Charlie Strong were assistants at Florida at the same time.
