DALLAS — Every women’s Final Four team this year hails from a Power 5 conference. But just because they come from the richest conferences doesn’t mean they spend the same amount of money on their women’s basketball teams. 

South Carolina spends the most of the Final Four contenders by far — on both its team and head coach.

The Gamecocks shelled out a whopping $9.5 million last year, according to Department of Education data from the 2021-22 season. In addition, coach Dawn Staley, who makes close to $3 million annually, is the second-highest-paid women’s basketball coach in the country.

• The LSU Tigers came in second, with $8.3 million in expenses last season.
• The Iowa Hawkeyes were slightly farther behind, with $6 million. 
• The Virginia Tech Hokies, who will appear in their first Final Four on Friday night, spent only $3.4 million. 

Those figures don’t include coaching salaries, though head coaching contracts follow the same rankings as overall team budgets.

• LSU coach Kim Mulkey makes $2.6 million per year, third in the nation.
• Iowa coach Lisa Bluder earns $1.1 million, ranking eighth.
• Virginia Tech coach Kenny Brooks, who reportedly makes well under $1 million, isn’t even on the list for the top 25 highest-paid coaches.

Despite the discrepancy, all four have earned a trip to Dallas — and will face off on Friday night.

The Oakland A’s celebrated Opening Day with victories on the field and in the courthouse.

On Thursday, the Athletics beat the Los Angeles Angels 2-1 to start the season.

Meanwhile, a California appeals court panel upheld an Alameda County Superior Court judge’s decision that the A’s and the city of Oakland weren’t violating environmental standards under the California Environmental Quality Act with their plans to build a new $12 billion stadium district on the Howard Terminal waterfront.

Last April, a coalition including truckers, port workers, and cargo operators sued the team and city over the supposed environmental violations.

In the fall, Alameda Superior Court judge Ronald Seligman ruled that the A’s weren’t in the wrong, rejecting claims that a new waterfront stadium would cause aquatic traffic on the grounds that the nearest water would be 700 feet from the park — further than any player has ever hit a home run.

The question now is whether the A’s will continue with plans to build a $1 billion, privately financed ballpark in Oakland — or depart for Las Vegas, as heavily rumored.

If the Oakland plans do indeed move forward, a new ballpark can’t come soon enough: A fan survey taken ahead of Opening Day ranked Oakland Coliseum the worst MLB park in the country.

Despite the ongoing war in Ukraine, Wimbledon will allow Russian players to compete in this year’s tournament.

Tennis players from Russia and Belarus will compete under a neutral flag at this summer’s tournament from July 3-16. They were banned in 2022 due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

But Russian players aren’t exactly getting free reign to play politics at Wimbledon this summer. The players “will not be allowed to express support for the invasion,” wrote the Washington Post. 

“Any player who receives funding from the Russian or Belarusian governments, including sponsorships from state-controlled companies, will not be allowed to play.”

Russian players are allowed to compete in tennis’ other Grand Slam events as neutral athletes.

Despite the decision, Ian Hewitt, chairman of the All England Club, still condemns Russia’s “illegal” invasion.

“This was an incredibly difficult decision, not taken lightly or without a great deal of consideration for those who will be impacted,” he said. “It is our view that, considering all factors, these are the most appropriate arrangements for The Championships for this year.” 

The ban prevented stars such as Daniil Medvedev of Russia and Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus from playing last year. This latest decision was condemned by both Russia and the Association of Tennis Professionals, according to the Post.

Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. The U.K. has condemned the “Russian government’s unprovoked and premeditated war against Ukraine.”