I received an email from UT this morning concerning SEC Tournament tickets. Tennessee has not sold their allotment. The games this year are in the Georgia Dome.  Failure to sell their allotment even happened last year when the games were in Nashville at a smaller venue.  Where will UT fans be sitting this year? Not the best seats in the huge building. Section 129, in the corner. At $325 per booklet it is turning out to be a tough sale.

I know the talk of the town is USC sanctions and conference realignment but I got something in the mail from UT today that gave me pause.

The University is offering many season ticket holders the opportunity to buy FOUR more SEASON TICKETS, in either the north or south end zone (lower bowel!!), for nothing more than the cost of the tickets----no extra contribution required. As a season ticket holder since 1986, I can tell you nothing like this has ever happened before.

I realize this can be a reflection of many things....including lower expectations this season, tough economy, etc., but obviously there have been 100's, if not 1,000's, of non-renewals from previous season ticket holders. 

I don't like the thought of seeing gaping holes created by empty seats at Neyland Stadium but it is something we may have to withstand for a few seasons.

I surely hope that we can fill Neyland Stadium against Auburn.  I just received (8pm, Tuesday) an email from UT Athletics with the information that "a limited number of tickets still remain" for the game this Saturday. Of course there won't be any wide swaths of empty seats as in the Ohio game, but it would be great if we had a good, old fashioned SELL OUT; not only for this game but for the game against Georgia next weekend, too.

In a sign of continuing hard economic times, the UT Athletic Dept. this morning sent an email to all Tennessee Fund Donors (formerly VASF) alerting them that in its initial offering,  UT did not sell all of its ticket allotment to the UT vs. Florida game in Gainesville.

The email read:  "A limited number of tickets remain from our allotment for the upcoming football game AT Florida on Saturday, Sept. 19."

This is the first time in my memory that away game Florida tickets had to be RE-offered to donors. UT normally restricts UF, UGA and 'Bama away game tickets to 2 or 4, depending on giving level.

Admittedly, Gainesville is a "fer piece", requiring lots of gasoline and overnight accommodations. Add to that the less than hospitable welcoming UT fans receive and I can understand how that road trip might be one that get scratched from your fall football agenda. 

Thankfully, the email only offered Florida tickets with no mention of away game Alabama tickets. If the Athletic Dept. has trouble selling those, I'll know the sky is close to falling.

Not sure what to make of this, but I got a letter yesterday from UT concerning additional season tickets being made available to current season ticket holders. The available seats are in the LOWER levels of the North and South end zones. The number of seats available is not mentioned. Maximum you can purchase is 4.

I assumed that the buzz created by Kiffin and Co. would have resulted in great demand for season tickets. Maybe the university is simply rewarding current season ticket holders with an opportunity to get 2009 season tickets with no increase in annual donation. Maybe the down economy has resulted in non-renewals in numbers not seen in recent years. The letter says this offer is for 2009 season ONLY and priority dead line is August 15.

I assume that if current season ticket holders don't grab all of these seats they will be made available to the general public (after 8-15-09). The ticket booklet (with all home games) is $360----and you're in the lower bowl. Frankly, I anticipated a waiting list for tickets, not a bunch for sale.

Imagine getting an email from UT on the Wednesday before the 'Bama game that announces a "limited number of tickets are available" for the contest. Had I received this only two years ago, I would have thought the game, perhaps, conflicted with THE END OF THE WORLD.

At any rate, that email did arrive in my Inbox this morning. The remaining ticktets go on sale at 7pm this evening (Wed.) online. 

Ken

Link to purchase: http://ev9.evenue.net/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/SEGetEventList?groupCode=FB&linkID=utenn&shopperContext=&caller=&appCode=