This year, Tennessee, Miami, UCLA, and UConn have accomplished an impressive feat: sending both their men’s and women’s programs to the Sweet 16. 

There’s no perfect formula for prowess on both sides — but there are commonalities.

“I think it really starts with administration,” Tennessee men’s coach Rick Barnes told reporters on Wednesday, noting that athletic director Danny White “has come in and has made as big an impact within two years as anyone I’ve ever seen. … He’s done something to help every sport on that campus.”

Investment doesn’t hurt, either.

All four schools spent at least $16 million in aggregate on both programs in 2021-22, according to Department of Education data — not including coaching salaries. They also spent a minimum of $5.5 million on their women’s programs.

• UConn: $24.1M for mens, $8.5M for women’s, $32.6M total
• Tennessee: $14.4M for the mens, $6M for the women’s, $20.4M total 
• UCLA: $12M for men’s, $5.6M for women’s, $17.6M total
• Miami: $10M for men’s, $6M for women’s, $16M

The last piece of the puzzle appears to be culture.

“We’re close,” Miami women’s basketball coach Katie Meier said of the men’s and women’s teams on Monday. “We watched [the men] last night.” 

Meier described how the teams tease each other in the training room and put “win/loss” on their whiteboard: “We talk like, ‘Oh, you’re going to win?’ You should’ve hit that shot.’”

To get to the Sweet 16, both Miami teams beat Indiana.

Baseball’s most expensive team is now offering what might be the league’s most expensive seats.

The New York Mets are opening a membership-only speakeasy behind the right-field fence at Citi Field — and a front-row seat at the establishment costs a cool $24,999.

However, those are apparently sold out — the only spots currently available are in the third and fourth rows at $19,000 each.

The membership will be capped at 25-30, with members permitted to buy guest passes to the 100-seat club. The institution is called The Cadillac Club at Payson’s after the Mets’ late founding and majority owner Joan Whitney Payson, baseball’s first female owner who didn’t inherit her club. 

The club will offer lounge seats, field views, in-seat storage, personal coolers, and flat-screen TVs. Food, wine, beer, and soft drinks come with the membership, with cocktails available for purchase.

The high-priced venue suits the Mets, who have shocked baseball with their free-spending ways. 

The team could spend over $500 million this season between a projected luxury tax payroll of $390 million and $116 million in fees toward MLB’s competitive balance fund. 

The Mets are the only team to surpass the $293 million threshold —  above which teams are charged 90% in tax from any additional spending —  nicknamed the “Cohen tax” after owner Steve Cohen.

Florida Atlantic University men’s basketball coach Dusty May doesn’t consider his team a “Cinderella,” he told reporters on Wednesday. 

But the team, which will play in its first-ever Sweet 16 on Thursday, is certainly a financial underdog: The Owls have a smaller budget than any team in the men’s East Regional — and the second-smallest of any remaining Sweet 16 team aside from Princeton ($1.8 million).

Last year, FAU spent $2.7 million on its team, according to Department of Education data. The Owls’ opponents, the Tennessee Volunteers, spent $14.4 million. 

And those numbers don’t even include coaching salaries:

• May makes a reportedly $390,000 a year — less than any other coach in the men’s Sweet 16. (Though his players did call May “the best coach” during a press conference on Wednesday.)
• Vols coach Rick Barnes earns $5.5 million annually — the second-highest in the men’s Sweet 16 and the fourth-highest in all of NCAA men’s basketball.

Over the past few years, the team has played in front of sparse crowds. At Wednesday’s press conference, May described how the program tried to rebuild by captivating one fan at a time. 

He did chuckle when financial disparities were mentioned, noting that the team was able to rise above any financial disparities thanks to its attitude.

“In today’s climate, a lot of places are getting more of a finished product, where a lot of our guys came in with a chip on their shoulder,” he said. “But what’s separated them is their work ethic and their drive to be successful.”

In the midst of tremendous uncertainty around local broadcasts at the Major League level, MLB has reportedly struck a deal to stream all minor league games for free.

All available broadcasts for the 120 minor league teams will be available on the Bally Live app, according to the New York Post. 

There will be no blackouts for local teams — unlike with MLB.TV, which only provides video for out-of-market games. 

Bally’s, a casino operator and owner of the sports betting app Bally Bet, will not allow gambling on minor league games but will provide free games related to the broadcasts. Fans will also be able to bet on other events through Bally’s, including MLB games.

Diamond in a Rough Spot

Though it owns the naming rights to the 19 Diamond Sports Group regional sports networks, Bally’s doesn’t produce or broadcast games on those channels. Diamond filed for bankruptcy last week but said it will continue to operate its networks and broadcast games.

The Texas Rangers notified Diamond that they may sever ties with the broadcaster and seek other means of broadcasting their games. MLB would prefer to eliminate streaming blackouts in any new contracts for local rights.

Other teams may choose to follow suit. MLB has said it will produce games and broadcast them on its MLB Network if Diamond is unable to honor its contracts.