A flop of a football season impacts the University of Tennessee tremendously, but it won't stymie the rush of facility improvements coming in the next two years.

Executive suites at Thompson-Boling Arena and a basketball practice facility are moving closer to reality, men's athletic director Mike Hamilton said Saturday at the fall meeting of the UT Athletics Board.

"We're above our break-even point on the executive-suite commitments,'' Hamilton said, "and funding is going well on the practice facility.

"We hope we can break ground on that soon.''

Hamilton said UT has 11 signed commitments for executive suites at the arena and verbal agreements for five to 10 more.

"Assuming everything moves according to plan, we could begin some preliminary construction late next summer,'' he said.

"We anticipate opening those boxes for the 2007-08 season.''

Additional firm commitments beyond the 11 present ones will help fund the $13-to-15 million practice facility to be built adjacent to the arena.

"We're in the advance stages of design,'' Hamilton said. "We've changed some things and I think we've got a better facility drawn up now than we had.''

The UTAD has 11 capital construction projects either underway or on the drawing board. Neyland Stadium is due a $34-million facelift over the next two years.

The department came in for the 2005 fiscal year with a $50,000 cash-flow deficit, due to the $1.391 million buyout payment to basketball coach Buzz Peterson.

Hamilton emphasized that the department makes money but chooses to contribute generously to non-athletic programs.

That includes $2.5 million to non-athletic scholarships and debt service on university facilities.

Hamilton said UT and Notre Dame are the only BCS members donating a significant number of football tickets to the university for non-athletic fund-raising. UT contributes 16,000 football and 4,000 basketball tickets to that cause.

The board acknowledged that football is the phase of the university with which the vast majority of Tennesseans identify.

Hamilton said he is confident head coach Phillip Fulmer will "step back" at the end of the season and evaluate the direction of the program.

"He will take a look at his personnel, schemes, recruiting and administration,'' Hamilton said, "and make sure he is prepared to accomplish the goals he has set forward for himself and his program.

"And I know what those goals are. They're aggressive goals.''

Hamilton said he will be involved in a two-fold capacity: to provide Fulmer with whatever support he needs, and to ensure accountability.

"He and I share the same goals,'' Hamilton said. "I know that.''

Mike Strange may be reached at 865-342-6276.