For the first time in UT history students will be required to pay for football tickets starting next fall.

Tennessee men’s Athletic Director Mike Hamilton said Thursday that students will be required to pay $15 for individual game tickets, or can purchase season tickets for all seven home games for $90.

Hamilton said the student fee is due to the financial increase in various areas including coaching salaries, athletic scholarships and travel fees.

“The bottom line is this: there are only five or six places where an intercollegiate program can go to increase revenue,” Hamilton said. “You have ticket sales, development dollars, marketing partnerships, conference revenue and concessions and souvenir sales.

“You’re trying to manage your expenses and make sure you can cover those expenses. The Tennessee Athletic Department has to be self sustaining, that’s our mandate. As such, we have to generate the revenue to cover our expenses.”

The athletic program has decreased its operating budget by $1.1 million in five years under Hamilton.

Another reason for the new student fee, Hamilton said, was to stay competitive with other schools around the country, especially in the Southeastern Conference.

“We are trying to produce the best athletic programs for the students,” Hamilton said.

UT joins a long list of major athletic schools to charge students for football tickets. The University of Michigan charges $195 a season, one of the highest rates in the country, while the University of Georgia and University of Kentucky are on the lower ends, charging their students $48 and $35 respectively.

Last season UT was one of only three SEC schools to give free football tickets to full-time students. The other two schools were Vanderbilt and South Carolina.

The student fee is the third increase in football tickets across the board. The athletic department announced an increase of $19 for season tickets over the 2007 price. UT faculty and staff will also have to pay more to attend games next year. Staff discounts dropped from 50 percent a year ago to only 20 percent in 2008; the changes were announced March 31.

“I know that that falls in line with our athletic peers such as Florida,” said Todd Diacon, Athletics Committee chair and vice provost for academic operations.

Hamilton said the athletic program looked at multiple areas to get the extra revenue including adding on to the student activities fee, but decided to go in a different direction.

“With not changing (the student activity fee) and choosing to charge (for tickets), at least it’s a selective fee. The students that are wanting to go to football games will purchase the ticket.”

The athletic department will work with SGA to decide how the tickets will be distributed next season. One of the issues is whether a student’s season ticket package would be for the same seat every game, or if it would change every week which is the current process.

SGA president John Rader was not happy when he learned about the new student fee Wednesday. Rader said SGA was not informed prior to the decision.

“Anyway you look at it, that’s a $90 increase. That’s outrageous,” Rader said. “Speaking on behalf of the students I don’t consider that a nominal fee.”

Hamilton said the fee won’t be a popular one among students, and being a former SGA member at the University of Clemson, he understands there will be frustration amongst the student body.

The Orange Nation fee will continue to be in effect in addition to the student ticket fee, Hamilton said.

There is no plan to charge for student tickets to any other athletic events, including basketball.

The Daily Beacon

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