In October 1994 the board of trustees approved a proposal presented by UT Athletics Director Doug Dickey to spend $750,000 to create a men’s basketball hall of fame, with approximately half of the money to come from donations and the remainder to come from the Athletics Department. SGA President Matthew Gregory wrote a column in the student newspaper saying that the board had done the unthinkable and had forgotten the university’s primary mission—students. Gregory contended that the $750,000 could be better spent for library resources, classroom upgrading, or additional computers, and that the $1.4 million paid to men’s and women’s athletics from the Student Programs and Services Fee was being diverted from student benefit. The Daily Beacon termed the Hall of Fame “not vital to existence.”
Although UT President Joe Johnson pointed out that there was no direct relation between the funds allocated from the Student Programs and Services Fee and the proposal before the board, the Faculty Senate joined in opposition to the expenditure of funds, and the proposal was put on hold by Director Dickey in November.