The numbers on the scoreboard reflect a surge in the fortunes of men's basketball at the University of Tennessee.

So do the numbers on the cash register.

On the court, first-year coach Bruce Pearl and his team have raced to a surprisingly strong start that has garnered national attention.

The men's athletic department can quantify the positive reaction from the community in several ways.

Attendance, ticket sales and concessions revenue are up significantly.

Several donors have gotten on board with the fundraising for proposed luxury suites at Thompson-Boling Arena, as well as the practice facility to be built adjacent to it.

"This proves "that Tennessee basketball fans have never gone away,'' said Chris Fuller, assistant athletic director for sales and marketing.

"They're out there. We needed to give them a reason to come back.''

They're coming back, all right.

The spectacle of 21,612 for a Wednesday-night SEC opener against Georgia was unthinkable a few months ago.

Through eight home games, the Vols have averaged 15,569 in attendance, a figure that reflects tickets sold as opposed to actual bodies in seats.

Through the SEC opener a year ago, the average attendance was 11,377.

That's a difference of 4,192 per game.

No wonder concessions sales are running $135,000 ahead of a comparable point last season -- and that doesn't include the Georgia game.

"I'm seeing two things,'' said Mike Hamilton, the men's athletic director who hired Pearl to replace Buzz Peterson last March.

"I'm seeing more tickets sold, which is encouraging, but I'm also seeing more folks in the seats that have traditionally been sold but hadn't been showing up regularly.

"I watch the highlights on the evening news and those orange seats really pop. Watching the highlights of the Georgia game, I didn't see many orange seats.''

Season-ticket sales stayed relatively flat.

"My sense,'' said Fuller, "is that our fans have gone through this process a few times before and decided to sit back and wait and see.

"I think we'll see (season tickets) accelerate next year.''

The increase has come from a combination of single-game purchases, walk-up sales, popular mini-packages and student participation.

Not counting the Georgia game, Fuller said UT had sold almost 7,000 single-game tickets (at $14 a pop). For all of last year, the figure was 4,300.

The SEC schedule was divided into two four-game packs, one anchored by Kentucky, the other by Florida.

UT also marketed a holiday package, using the students' absence to sell discounted lower-deck seats.

The response was crowds of 15,000-plus for both Alabama A&M and Lipscomb.

"I used to work at North Carolina,'' Fuller said, "and I'm not sure we could have gotten 15,000 at North Carolina for Alabama A&M.''

The majority of the new tickets being sold are at or close to full value, Hamilton said. UT has marketed some upper-deck seats at a deep discount for groups.

Students, of course, get in free, but are vital in Pearl's mind to enhancing the Vols' homecourt advantage.

Through eight home games, student attendance already has surpassed the figure for 2004-05.

At the first seven home games, the average figure was a modest 793 per game.

Then 4,800 stormed in for Georgia.

"We thought if we hit it out of the park, we might have 3,000,'' Fuller said.

Why the deluge? Fuller and Hamilton agree on the answer: Pearl and his staff getting directly involved on campus.

The night prior to the Georgia game, for example, Pearl went to the cafeteria in the Presidential Complex and stood on a chair to beseech students to come to the game.

"They all feel like they know him personally,'' said Fuller, "and they might.''

Potential big donors feel the same way.

Hamilton said UT has firm commitments for 17 of the 26 proposed luxury suites that could be built as early as the 2007-08 season.

"I'd say we've had five in the last month,'' Hamilton said.

"Once we get above 20, I'll feel a lot better.''

The practice facility is designed and awaiting funding.

"We're very close to a tipping point,'' said Hamilton. "We've got a lot of people really close to making a pretty significant commitment.

"We could start on it as early as next summer.''

If it all sounds too good to be true, some UT fans are already worrying that Pearl's profound success here will attract lucrative offers from more traditional basketball powerhouses.

Hamilton is aware keeping Pearl around will at some point get more expensive than his $800,000 annual package. But he doesn't want to speculate about it.

"Bruce and I have a great relationship and a great dialogue,'' Hamilton said.

"I don't want to put words in his mouth, but Bruce is deserving of and looking for a platform to win a national championship.''

The question is whether he can build Tennessee into such a platform.

"Look at Texas, and some of that kind of success'' Hamilton said. "By hiring the right coach and making a commitment to basketball, I don't see any reason why we can't have that pattern here at Tennessee.''

For now, Tennessee can revel in its newfound aura as a happening place for men's basketball.

And as pleasant a surprise as the response has been so far, it could get even better since the SEC schedule has arrived.

Florida's appearance at the arena on Saturday should be another big crowd, with more to follow.

"We've got an opportunity to continue to have success,'' Hamilton said. "And as folks see our work ethic, we have a chance to average high teens or 20,000 in SEC play.

"Not many people in America can say that.''