If the Tennessee-LSU football game is played as scheduled Sept. 24, Tennessee fans might have a bigger challenge than their team.

Getting to Baton Rouge, La., will be a problem. Finding a place to stay will be a bigger problem.

Hurricane-ravaged New Orleans is a disaster area. And Baton Rouge hotels and motels have been filled by New Orleans evacuees from Hurricane Katrina.

Kris Phillips, UT's director of alumni programs, said he already has canceled his group's LSU trip, which would have included 110 UT fans. Ron Phillips, the owner of Always Travel in Knoxville, said he had canceled a travel package for 100 UT fans.

"One of the goals is to have a great, safe trip," Kris Phillips said. "Those are things we couldn't guarantee."

The group had planned to stay at the Royal Sonesta Hotel in the French Quarter of New Orleans.

"Obviously, the Royal Sonesta is not able to take any customers," Phillips said. "And there aren't any other rooms in Louisiana. The response (from fans) has been very positive. They totally understand. There's a lot more going on in the world than a football game."

Ron Phillips' travel package also included hotel accommodations in the French Quarter. He has reimbursed customers the price of their plane ticket to New Orleans, whose airport is no longer in operation, and is trying to find them hotel accommodations in Baton Rouge.

A hotel reservation is Baton Rouge might be a long shot.

"If FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) says they want the hotel, we don't have a room," Ron Phillips said.

John Wolf, a spokesman for the Marriott hotel chain, said Marriott is trying to be "sensitive to all concerned."

"Many guests (in Marriott properties in Baton Rouge) have asked to extend their stays," Wolf said. "We have been able to avoid any issues so far. We're making every effort to accommodate all guests."

If you have a reservation at a Marriott property in Baton Rouge, Wolf said you should call the hotel's national reservation number periodically to get an update on the status of your reservation.

InterContinental Hotels, which owns the Holiday Inn chain, has encouraged its hotels to give priority to evacuees and emergency workers.

"Nobody should go into that area assuming they have a reservation," said Virginia Osborne, a senior public relations manager for InterContinental Hotels. "We hope that people with reservations will understand the needs of the evacuees."

She said that Holiday Inn has set up a hurricane-assistance line that guests can call before they go into an area. If the hotel can't accommodate guests with reservations, it will help them find accommodations elsewhere, Osborne said.

Some UT fans already are looking for other alternatives to Baton Rouge.

"We've had people ask about flying to Jackson (Miss.) and driving (to Baton Rouge)," Ron Phillips said.

There is growing speculation about whether the game will be played as scheduled or if it could be moved to Neyland Stadium. LSU already has postponed Saturday's season opener against North Texas State, and a Sept. 10 game against Arizona State scheduled for Tiger Stadium could be moved to Tempe, Ariz.

"It's (LSU's) call (on the UT game)," said SEC associate commissioner Charles Bloom. "It's a situation where LSU and the SEC are monitoring the situation, and at an appropriate time, a decision will be made."

UT athletic director Mike Hamilton spoke with LSU athletic director Skip Bertman Wednesday and said Bertman wants to play the UT game in Tiger Stadium.

"Right now, I'm trying to be supportive of Skip," Hamilton said. "They want to play a game on campus in the state of Louisiana. They think it would be good for people there to have that. I support him in that.''

Hamilton said his staff was "working on contingency plans" involving travel, including the possibility of the team traveling on game day. Although the kickoff time hasn't been announced, it's expected to be a nationally televised night game on ESPN.

"Unusual times call for unusual responses," Hamilton said. "We have to be prepared for that."