An April 18, 2008, article in the Knoxville News Sentinel reported that the Athletics Department, through its vendor, ARAMARK, had requested a permit to sell alcohol in the Thompson-Boling Arena during nonathletic events. Denise Barlow, vice chancellor for business and finance, said that Chancellor Jan Simek was made aware of a potential shortfall in the Athletics Department’s budget in a September 27 meeting. Simek attended a follow-up meeting on March 4, where options were presented for increasing the Athletics Department’s funding. He selected implementation options that resulted in the users of the services bearing the costs of those services—among them serving alcohol at nonathletic events. He consulted with UT Police Chief August Washington prior to approving the application for the permit.
The Faculty Senate passed a resolution calling upon Simek to veto plans to sell alcohol at the Thompson-Boling Arena, pointing out that there had never been any sales of alcohol on campus and that the campus policy on alcohol was fairly clear, requiring approval of the chancellor before any could be served. The application for a permit was withdrawn.