Shaka Smart Signs Eight-Year Contract With VCU Worth $1.2 Million Per Season, According To Report

New details have emerged about Shaka Smart's new contract to remain VCU basketball's head coach, and it appears he took a pay cut of sorts. Smart will sign an eight-year contract with a base salary of $1.2 million per season, less than the reported annual salary he would have received at North Carolina State, according to FOX Sports' Jeff Goodman. That figure does not include bonuses.

Smart decided to stay at VCU over bolting to North Carolina State, his athletic director confirmed earlier. N.C. State was prepared to offer him a six-year contract worth nearly $2 million a year, according to a previous report. This means that Smart took an $800,000 or so pay cut annually in exchange for two more years on his contract.

Of course, this is still a major raise on Smart's previous contract, which paid him a base salary of just $350,000 a year, so Smart is making out just fine. 

Shaka Smart Remains VCU's Head Coach After He Turned Down NC State, Athletic Director Says

It's now confirmed: Shaka Smart will remain as VCU basketball's head coach after leading the Rams to the 2011 Final Four. VCU Athletic director Norwood Teague confirmed to Mike DeCourcy of Sporting News that Smart has turned down an offer from North Carolina State to stay in Richmond.

VCU head coach Shaka Smart, who led the Rams to the 2011 Final Four, has informed officials at N.C. State he does not wish to be considered for the vacant Wolfpack coaching position.

VCU athletic director Norwood Teague confirmed to Sporting News that Smart had been offered the N.C. State job, but declined to stay with the Rams.

North Carolina State made an offer of $2 million per year for Smart, but he elected not to take it. It remains unclear how much his new contract with VCU will pay him, but he will certainly be receiving a raise over the $350,000 base salary he received this season.

Shaka Smart Correct To Stay As VCU's Head Coach After Final Four Run

If the reports are true, Shaka Smart is making an excellent decision to stay at VCU instead of go to a power-conference program like North Carolina State.

Shaka Smart To Remain VCU's Basketball Coach, According To Report

Shaka Smart is the hottest coach on the market after he led VCU basketball to the 2011 Final Four, but it looks like he will not go anywhere. Smart will be staying at VCU, turning down Missouri and North Carolina State, according to CBS Sports' Gregg Doyel.

Smart was rumored to be the front-runner for the Missouri and North Carolina State jobs, but Missouri went in a different direction, hiring Miami's Frank Haith instead. North Carolina State, meanwhile, put together a package to lure Smart, but it appears he has turned it down. David Glenn of ACCSports.com has details on N.C. State's offer.

According to sources, the Wolfpack's presentation to Smart included a six-year commitment worth approximately $2 million per year. Among ACC basketball coaches, only Duke's Mike Krzyzewski, UNC's Roy Williams and Maryland's Gary Williams make more than that amount in base compensation.    

VCU's offer, meanwhile, is expected to be worth well over $1 million a year, according to Glenn. Smart's base salary was $350,000 last season.

VCU Hopes To Keep Shaka Smart As Its Head Coach

VCU's stunning run to the 2011 Final Four has made 33-year-old head coach Shaka Smart a major commodity on the coaching market. This is nothing new to VCU, who has already lost young hotshot coaches Jeff Capel and Anthony Grant to power-conference programs this decade. However, the school seems determined to prevent that from happening this time.

Athletic director Norwood Teague said the school has "every plans" of keeping Smart and will be "proactive" in doing so. Via Robert Klemko of USA Today.

"We're gonna' keep him," Teague said. "We just have to be proactive about it."    

Smart makes a base salary of $350,000 this season, with a $500,000 bonus for VCU's NCAA Tournament run. But he could earn up to a $2 million per year base salary at a bigger school.

Teague said the school has already begun talking internally about how it can keep Smart, and will continue those conversations with Smart more vigorously once the season ends.