UT to remove more than 200 seats from arena end zone

That’s the challenge to University of Tennessee students when the Bruce Pearl basketball era begins in November.

UT will remove more than 200 folding-chair seats from the end zone where students sit at Thompson-Boling Arena, creating a zone where the students will stand throughout the game.

"(Pearl) thinks that will energize the crowd,’’ UT men’s athletic director Mike Hamilton said. "We want to help the basketball coach and I think the students want to help the basketball coach.’’

Pearl asked for the seats to be removed to emulate the atmosphere at Wisconsin-Milwaukee where he coached the past four years.

An expanded section for the pep band will keep its seats. The rest of the pullout section of the west end zone will be standing only.

Hamilton also said seats for 50 to 60 students will be added to the floor close to the UT bench.

UT is also studying ways to add seating in the exit areas at the four corners of the court, the so-called elephant doors.

"The preliminary plan ? was to add four to five rows in those door areas, about 60 to 70 seats in each corner,’’ Hamilton said.

"We’ve got to see about the viability of that, keeping in mind that is egress for the lower bowl. We still have to have an 8-foot clearance for fans to walk out and it has to be approved by the fire marshal.’’

The Lady Vols, on the other hand, will stay with their usual seating configuration. The student-seating section at women’s basketball games is smaller. Students sit in end-zone section 129, which is right in front of general-admission seating.

"It’s something where we’re going to watch the men and evaluate,’’ said Jim Delaney, the Lady Vols director of marketing and promotions. "If it’s a success, we want to keep up with the Joneses. We want to do what’s best for women’s athletics.’’