Beginning in the 1960s, UT offered two tickets and a parking pass to state legislators, state officials, and members of the Tennessee congressional delegation. In 1975 Rep. Tommy Burnett (D, Jamestown) introduced a bill, which was subsequently passed and signed into law, designed to prevent the distribution of free tickets to members of the legislature. The state commissioner of finance, William Jones, ruled that the language of the bill prohibited any extra benefits for state employees that were not included in their contracts.
The 10 percent discount for faculty and staff provided by the UT Bookstore was ruled to fall into this category, and it, as well as free tickets and the faculty-staff ticket discount disappeared in 1975–76. The ability of the institution to offer free tickets for legislators, reduced-price tickets for faculty and staff, and bookstore discounts was restored effective July 1, 1976, by removing the clause in the appropriations bill that prohibited them.
UT restored the previous free tickets, reduced-price tickets, and bookstore discounts, with the exception of the application of the bookstore discount to textbooks. In 2002 President John Shumaker requested that all state legislators, officials, and Tennessee congressional delegation members pay the university for home football tickets. The opportunity to pay for the tickets had always been present. But in 2001, for example, 125 state legislators requested tickets and 16 paid the cost of them. Also in 2001, among the 57 pairs of tickets requested by college presidents, members of the Tennessee Higher Education Commission, congressmen, and other state officials, only 4 paid for them. Shumaker’s request also indicated that a new policy was being implemented that disallowed the use of the tickets by anyone other than the designated official.
Shumaker announced that the funds received from ticket purchases would be placed in “a special fund to provide emergency assistance to students who demonstrate need.”