TCU became the first power conference program to announce it will be searching for a new head coach in its offseason as the school announced in late February that Raegan Pebley would be stepping down following the conclusion of her ninth season with the Horned Frogs. On Friday night, TCU’s season ended with a loss in the Big 12 tournament quarterfinals.

Historically, this hasn’t been a destination job, but mid-major coaches who want a shot at the power conference level understand there are only so many openings each year and there’s a benefit to taking swings at available opportunities. Sitting power conference coaches might see the job as an opportunity in recruiting-rich territory at a school that might be able to spend some money. Though Pebley’s salary isn’t publicly available because TCU is private, it sounds as though TCU is willing to invest in the position, spending at least $600,000 (if not more) on the right candidate, said one person familiar with women’s basketball coaching contracts, who is not authorized to publicly discuss salaries and was granted anonymity.

Here’s the brass tax: TCU hasn’t been to the NCAA Tournament since 2010 (though, the Horned Frogs would’ve made the 2020 season when they finished second in the Big 12). They haven’t won a…

South Carolina is still the class of college hoops, and the Indiana Fever stand to benefit in the draft from the generational talent who’s propelling the Gamecocks in their bid for a repeat. It’s time for the first mailbag of the college season, with a heavy sprinkling of WNBA, because as we all know, there is no offseason.

Is there any movement in the WNBA for owners to follow Mark Davis’ model of investing money into the coach and team? If no, what’s holding these owners back? – Laura I.

There is nothing in the collective bargaining agreement stopping WNBA teams from spending money like Davis does on head-coaching salaries or dedicated WNBA practice facilities. There are some ownership groups that don’t have the money that Davis does, which limits what they can do, but there are owners with deep pockets who haven’t expressed the enthusiasm that Davis has for their WNBA squads.

A notable exception to that trend is Joe Tsai, who has tried to pour more money into the Liberty and circumvented the CBA a year ago by covertly chartering planes for his team during the second half of the season. Per Sports Illustrated reporting, several owners in the league were irate at Tsai knowingly violating WNBA rules. That incident revealed a disconnect between newer ownership…