KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- In this economy, there's no such thing as a free meal anymore.

In order to reduce costs for basketball games this year, University of Tennessee Department of Athletics is eliminating food and drink vouchers for support personnel and is reducing the number of ushers at home games.

Tiffany Carpenter, a spokeswoman for the sports department, says the changes will return almost $80,000 to the basketball budgets.

In the past, support staff were allowed to get a free hot dog and a soft drink during the games, which retailed about $7. Also each game was staffed with the same number of ushers, but UT says it will now depend on fan attendance.

UT officials said in a memo announcing the changes that the extra money will help pay for the increased travel costs for away games.

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