The University of Tennessee Athletic Department expects to report a profit of about $100,000 this year, men's athletic director Mike Hamilton said Saturday at the spring meeting of the Athletics Board.

Football-generated revenue was down due to having one less home game than usual and losing an anticipated $800,000 payout from a bowl game. The Vols missed a bowl bid for the first time since 1988.

However, the love affair with men's basketball in coach Bruce Pearl's first year helped make up the difference, Hamilton said.

Attendance at men's games increased 47 percent to an average of 17,964. Individual game ticket sales increased 332 percent and concession revenue was up 156 percent.

All those increases added up to an $850,000 improvement in revenue over the previous year.

The Lady Vols reported a 14-percent boost in attendance.

Hamilton also painted a positive picture on the donations and development front.

"It was a good year overall,'' he said. "The donors have met the challenge.''

The new budget includes $500,000 to begin restocking UT's depleted reserve fund toward a goal of $2 million.

"A fundamental principle of life is you're supposed to have an emergency fund,'' Hamilton said.

UT didn't last spring when it terminated basketball coach Buzz Peterson and had to borrow $1.39 million from the university to buy out his contract.

The athletic department repaid $500,000 last July, will make another $500,000 installment on July 1 and pay the balance (with interest) in July, 2007.

Media Rights: Bidders have until May 2 to finalize proposals for UT's media rights package, currently held by Host Communications (broadcast, game programs) and Action Sports (signage).

The winner will be announced on July 3 and assume operation on July 1, 2007.

"Most of the major players in the country are involved in this process,'' Hamilton said.

"We anticipate all of them are going to bid on our project in some form or another.''

Among the seven bidders are Host, Action Sports, ESPN and Viacom.

NCAA Bids: UT has bid to host men's basketball regional finals in 2009 and 2010, as well as women's sub-regionals those years, Hamilton said.

Academic Notes: Baseball, the only UT sport penalized by the initial Academic Progress Rate report, chose to absorb the loss of 1.17 scholarships this season rather than have it affect recruiting for next year, Hamilton said.

David Ligon (football) and April Thomas (track and field) were recognized as the most improved academic performers.

UT finished third in the Excellence in Athletics Cup behind Duke and Stanford, women's AD Joan Cronan said. The rankings are based on competitive performance and academic achievement.