PARIS — The week was almost over, the Olympics nearly wrapped, when Erin Matson walked into the lobby of a botanical-themed boutique hotel. A sort of gilded garden pulled from a Parisian dream. This place is how the other side lives, and the name fit. La Fantaisie.

Nike booked a block of rooms during the Olympic Games. Its guests were part of an annual Athlete Think Tank, a consortium to survey influential women in sports. The list included Dawn Staley, Megan Rapinoe, Sue Bird and so on. They sat for group discussions, Master Class presentations from Serena Williams and Stacey Abrams, and for product sessions, giving feedback on Nike goods coming out soon and others still years from release.

The youngest member of the group was USC basketball star Juju Watkins. The second-youngest was Matson — a 24-year-old entering her second season as head field hockey coach at the University of North Carolina.

Matson arrived in the lobby wearing an oversized designer Nike sweatsuit. The chauffeur waiting outside was scheduled to leave for the airport in 45 minutes. Jess Sims, the Peloton instructor-turned-ESPN personality, walked past, asking if she and Matson were sharing a ride to Charles de Gaulle.

This is not the typical life of an American college field hockey coach. Matson is…

North Carolina women’s soccer coach Anson Dorrance — the all-time Division I leader for NCAA championships by a coach in any sport (21) — is retiring after 45 seasons leading the program, the school announced Sunday.

Dorrance, 73, led UNC’s women’s program to a record 22 national championships — the first of which came in 1981 before the NCAA oversaw women’s soccer  — and ended his career with a 934-88-53 record. He was also the United States women’s national team’s coach from 1986 to 1994, including in 1991 when the U.S. won the first women’s World Cup.

“As many of you know I modeled our program after Dean Smith’s basketball program, and retiring at this time is a credit to his thinking, as well,” Dorrance said in a statement. “He would re-evaluate his tenure, not after the season, but after he had time to re-charge his batteries prior to the next season. When he didn’t, he retired. After last season I initially was excited about the chance to bolster our roster, which we most certainly have done, but as preseason training camp went on, I realized I didn’t have the same energy it takes to give 100% to this year’s team.

“The players and staff, the university, Carolina athletics and our great fans deserve more, and the respect I have for the…

On Jan. 19, two days after he became the most coveted football player in the NCAA’s transfer portal, and mere hours after he welcomed Ohio State coaches for a recruiting visit, Caleb Downs announced his change-of-address plans. The freshman safety who’d earned second-team All-America honors at Alabama committed to the Buckeyes. Not long after, Downs and his father began relocating to Columbus.

Getting there was simple enough. Getting around was another matter.

Some wheels needed to be put in motion.

“I get a call from someone on the coaching staff and they said, ‘Hey, I’m here with Caleb and his dad now. Are you looking to add somebody else to your team?’” says Rick Ricart, the CEO and owner of Ricart Automotive Group in Columbus. “Would you be willing to do a car deal for him?’”

For decades, these were shifty conversations. Local car dealerships had long been conduits for the whispered inducements coaches or boosters promised talented players. When discovered, scandal erupted. Repercussions were often stark. Then came the seismic summer of 2021, when changes to Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) rules allowed college athletes to earn money without fear of NCAA sanctions.

Car dealers nationwide quickly exchanged leases and keys for players boasting about their new…

Now that Caitlin Clark is a member of the Indiana Fever, it’s time to turn the page on the 2024 WNBA Draft and look ahead to what could be an even more talented class in 2025. This is the last group of players to be eligible for a pandemic bonus year, so the WNBA will have a true double draft of fourth- and fifth-year seniors, which will simplify the process for general managers who no longer have to wonder who will declare.

The relevant exception to that is the medical redshirt. Players still have an additional year of eligibility if they sit out for a season due to injury, as is the case with the top prospect on the board. However, the number of players who fall into that category is relatively small.

Given that the draft order isn’t set until after the 2024 WNBA season, which has yet to commence, this isn’t a mock draft. Instead, it’s a list of the top players without regard to team fit. This exercise also only considers domestic prospects, though we should expect internationals to factor heavily on draft day in 2025. After all, three non-NCAA players were taken in the first round of Monday’s draft.

GO DEEPER

WNBA Draft grades: Fever earn A for picking Clark, Sky receive C+ even with Angel Reese

Much is expected to change between now and then, but probably not the…

Michael Jordan once expressed his love for an argyle pattern. Inevitably, the North Carolina Tar Heels would wear that argyle pattern on the basketball court. It was far from a Jordan-only decision, but more than 30 years ago, the uniform design thoughts of a university icon who became one of basketball’s all-time greatest players — many say the greatest — played a factor.

If anything, it might have helped sway the opinion of someone considered by some to be even more Tar Heel than Jordan — the opinion of one eventual Hall of Fame coach in Dean Smith. As a discussion among Hall of Famers in their respective fields resulted in planning a revised look for one of college basketball’s top programs, the voice of the legendary coach carried the most weight.

Fans of the past couldn’t miss the distinctive Carolina blue uniforms then, and fans of today recognize the argyle design that accompanies many of the university’s athletic uniforms. They have been on display in both the men’s and women’s NCAA tournaments. The men’s team advanced to the Sweet 16 over the weekend with a win over Michigan State. The women’s team fell to undefeated overall top seed South Carolina in a second-round game Sunday.

Smith’s and Jordan’s endorsements of new North Carolina basketball…

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It’s taken almost three years for the answer to become apparent.

Rewind the clock that far, back to Hubert Davis’ introductory press conference as North Carolina’s head coach. What stands out? Maybe, even still, the shock of his predecessor’s retirement: Roy Williams abruptly calling it a career only days earlier, on (of all dates) April Fool’s. Or maybe you remember Davis’ crisp plaid suit — or more likely, the small circular pin he wore on the left lapel, black save for three capital, Carolina blue letters: DES, for Dean Edwards Smith, Davis’ college coach. But more than anything? What stood out then, and still endures today, was the guiding philosophy Davis outlined.

“I’ve always wanted to walk the same road, the same path, as Coach Smith and Coach (Bill) Guthridge and Coach Williams,” Davis said then. “I’m so excited and humbled and thankful and appreciative and excited to be able to do it — with my own personality, and in my own shoes.”

The obvious follow-up question, then:

How would Davis do that?

How about like this? Davis, holding his wife Leslie’s hand, exiting Spectrum Center on Saturday, this time in a different baby blue sport coat… but wearing that same DES pin. They hugged the far side of a winding concrete…

The full NCAA Tournament bracket has been released with UConn leading the way as No. 1 overall.

(Editor’s note: This is part of the Bracket Central Series, an inside look at the run-up to the men’s and women’s NCAA Tournaments, along with analysis and picks during the tournaments.)

Eight double-digit seeds secured first-round upsets in the NCAA Tournament to bust brackets across the country. But when the dust settled on the opening weekend, only one double-digit seed was left standing in the Sweet 16: No. 11 NC State in the South Region.

Despite a season filled with so many evenly-matched teams, every No. 1 and No. 2 seed is still alive in the Sweet 16 for the first time in five years and just the fifth time since the NCAA Tournament began seeding in 1979. Of the 16 games involving one or two seeds, only three were decided by single digits.

With the Sweet 16 upon us, here are our latest NCAA Tournament power rankings for all 16 remaining national title contenders. Consider this our re-seeding of the Sweet 16, if you wish. We will update this ranking after every round and until the Final Four begins. Many of the top-seeded teams have looked dominant. Which one is in the best position to make a run at the championship? Here’s a look at where things stand:

On Friday, the first-round games in the women’s tournament offered us a fine lesson in a fundamental difference between this version of March Madness and the one played by men. In the men’s game, the gap between the very best teams on the one hand and power-conference also-rans, the best mid-majors and even Yale on the other has become narrow enough that if everything goes right for an underdog on a bad night for a favorite, anything really can happen. That’s not yet true on the women’s side.

Talent is dispersing throughout the women’s game, and many programs are improving rapidly beyond those who are perennial championship contenders. But most top-shelf teams are still able to squash bottom-bracket opponents — and specifically to snuff out their attempts at giant-killing tactics — mostly just by being so much bigger, stronger and faster.

Even without Elizabeth Kitley, Virginia Tech destroyed Marshall on Friday, holding the Thundering Herd to a pretty incredible 6-for-41 (14.6 percent) shooting on threes. Baylor pressured Vanderbilt into 21 turnovers. Colorado held Drake to four offensive rebounds while making more than 60 percent of their own inside shots. And those results are from games where our model thought the longshot had at least a 10 percent chance of…

First-round (and even first-weekend) upsets in the women’s NCAA Tournament are rare, but that doesn’t mean we won’t see thrillers from Day 1.

Since the women’s tournament expanded to 64 games in 1994, only one No. 16 seed has brought down a No. 1 seed: Harvard over Stanford in 1998. A No. 15 seed or No. 14 seed has never won a tournament game. But the 12-5 matchup remains spicy with 26 upsets through the years. Some teams (Florida Gulf Coast and Belmont) have become particularly adept at these.

The first weekend will also bring us interesting style and personnel matchups. Who will move on? Who’s March Madness dreams will end quickly?

Our experts pick the most fascinating first-round games to watch:

(All times listed are Eastern)

11:30 a.m. Friday, ESPN2

Grace Raynor:  The Spartans’ 22 wins are their most since the 2015-16 season, and they’ve hung right in with some of the best teams in the Big Ten this year, losing on the road to Iowa by just 3 points and Ohio State by 5. North Carolina, meanwhile, gave South Carolina one of its tougher games earlier in the season when the Gamecocks won by just 7 points in Chapel…

As college basketball players head to NCAA Tournament arenas on their team buses, many will slip on headphones, zone out to a song and absorb the vibes. Coaches also sometimes take a small moment from poring over last-minute scouting reports to escape to a melody filtering through their airpods.

These soundtracks, perhaps subconsciously, serve an objective, too. Music can settle our nerves — or pump us up. A specific banger can provide a dose of confidence. A sentimental song might remind us of our grand purpose. “Music is the shorthand of emotion,” Leo Tolstoy once wrote.

So as March Madness gets underway, The Athletic wondered what these tournament-bound stars will be listening to before they compete in some of the most important games in their lives. We asked women’s and men’s tournament players and coaches to share their pre-game playlists. Players’ tastes ranged from Nicki Minaj to Veeze to even Elvis Presley. Coaches ranged from Gospel to AC/DC.

You won’t achieve the same jump shot as these athletes by listening to their hype music, but these playlists will get you ready (from your couch) for tip-off.

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Women’s NCAA Tournament players’ mixtapes

JuJu Watkins

Guard | No. 1 USC

The brightest freshman in women’s basketball, Watkins has taken the Trojans to new…