Shaka Smart turns down Marquette

— -- VCU coach Shaka Smart has spurned Marquette.

Sources told ESPN.com that Smart called the Golden Eagles on Thursday after the school offered him a lucrative contract shortly after Buzz Williams left for Virginia Tech last week.

Smart has spent the past five seasons with the Rams -- and has taken the program to the NCAA tournament each of the past four years. He took the program from the First Four to the Final Four in 2011. The Rams lost to Stephen F. Austin in the second round of the NCAA tournament last week.

Sources told ESPN.com that Marquette -- which had focused its search on Smart the past few days -- now will move on to other candidates. Former UCLA coach Ben Howland, Green Bay's Brian Wardle (who played and was an assistant at Marquette) and Syracuse coach-in-waiting Mike Hopkins are all in the mix.