There's no free lunch at Thompson-Boling Arena anymore - at least for the hired help.

To cut costs, the University of Tennessee Department of Athletics has eliminated hot dog and Coke vouchers for basketball event support personnel and reshuffled the number of ushers present per game.

The operational changes will return almost $80,000 to sports budgets, said Tiffany Carpenter, director of public relations for UT athletics.

In the past, ushers for basketball games were each given a voucher for one hot dog and one Coke, which retail for about $7, according to David Elliott, assistant athletic director for event management.

"It was something we've been doing over the past few years to show our appreciation," Carpenter said.

In addition, UT is "actively managing" its support staff for basketball games based on the number of fans in attendance, Carpenter said.

In the past, each game was staffed with the same number of ushers. But some games that have lower attendance do not require that many ushers, she said.

"We want to make sure we're not paying for manpower we don't need," she said.

A Nov. 1 memo from the athletic department's event management department to basketball event support personnel states:

"Like any business, intercollegiate athletics is dependent upon the patron. Given the economic situation of our country, all prudent businesses are scaling back some of their operations. Our goal is to make the best decisions, monetarily, without impacting the ability of our student-athletes and coaches to compete for championships."

The budget savings provided by staffing changes and elimination of vouchers will "help pay for the increased travel costs associated with away-from-home contests," the memo states.

"We regret that we have to make decisions such as these," the memo continues. "But (we) are confident that your goal is the same as ours - we want to provide opportunities for our student-athletes to compete for championships."

Chloe White may be reached at 865-342-6341.

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.