Ticket price increases, yes. Midnight madness, maybe.

UT athletic director Mike Hamilton said fans can expect a modest increase in ticket prices for men's basketball in the prime seats, but some upper level seat prices will decrease.

"We're going to have different price points around the arena,'' Hamilton said. "The reason we look at ticket price increases is that as our budget and product grows, our 'finances' need to be reviewed.

"We hadn't had a price increase in five years.''

The women's team will not have an increase in individual ticket prices, according to Jimmy Delaney, the Lady Vols marketing and promotions director.

Hamilton said even with the cost of men's basketball inching up, he anticipates larger crowds than last season, when UT led the nation in increased attendance and finished fifth nationally with 17,954 per home game.

"I anticipate significant ticket demand based on the calls our marketing and ticket offices have received since the end of last basketball season,'' Hamilton said. "We averaged 21,000 in league play and right at 18,000 overall, the measuring stick for where that will go, is how will fans respond to our non-conference schedule.''

The Vols have beefed up their non-conference schedule with home games in Knoxville against Texas and Memphis this season. UT plays Oklahoma State in what's considered a neutral-site game at Nashville's Gaylord Entertainment Center.

The entire schedule is finished and it's expected to be released any day.

Hamilton said UT is holding the release of the schedule until it can get its website prepared for sales.

"There's a formal process for our web sales to be executed on the Internet, and that has to be built based on the schedule,'' Hamilton said. "That way people can literally go on line and start buying tickets immediately.''

The plan for a Midnight Madness type of celebration Oct. 13 - teams can actually practice at 7 p.m. that evening - remains up in the air.

UT coach Bruce Pearl said in a way he would just as soon have a regular practice, the better to get his young team prepared for the season.

"There are so few days from when we can start playing I have less than two weeks to get ready for our first exhibition game,'' Pearl said. "Now, if ESPN wants to come in and cover a Midnight Madness, that would be another thing. Or, if our student body and the Orange Nation felt strongly about it, fine.

"But it's not at the top of my list.''

Pearl said the team's first practice would be open to the public, just as all the team practices have been since he arrived last year.

Last year, the men's and women's basketball team celebrated the start of basketball practice with Hoopapalooza, which featured the teams holding a slam-dunk contest, a 3-point-shooting contest and a men-against-women scrimmage.

"Our marketing staff, (associate athletic director) John Currie and the coaching staffs are in discussion of what would be best for a preseason event,'' Hamilton said. "The men's and women's programs will work in conjunction.''

New Look: Hamilton said fans won't see any drastic changes in the Thompson-Boling Arena atmosphere this season, but 2007-08 will be a different story.

"They will see a number of changes next year,'' Hamilton said. "This year, I believe we will add a banner recognizing the fact that we won the Eastern Division title.''

And Ramar: UT recruit Ramar Smith said earlier this week he had been informed he would know his academic fate by the end of the week.

Smith, a point guard, re-took a standardized test in June and has been waiting on the NCAA Clearinghouse. If the former Detroit Martin Luther King High School star is eligible, he may enroll in classes.

Grading Out: Pearl said he's not expecting any academic issues from players already on campus now that the second session of summer school has finished.

"I think we had a pretty good summer,'' Pearl said.