Just a few years ago, it would have been unthinkable.

The idea of people lining up in the cold, spending serious money for nosebleed seats in Thompson-Boling Arena, would have been likened to larceny.

For what? To see Tennessee play a midweek game against Auburn? In basketball?

Danny Hutchens held his two tickets up in the air on Wednesday night and waited for them to be gobbled up.

It didn't take long. Business is good.

University of Tennessee basketball - usually ruled supreme by Pat Summitt and her seven-time national champion Lady Vols - now features a No. 2-ranked men's team in the national spotlight.

Times have definitely changed.

"You couldn't make any money on basketball before," Hutchens said. "In years past, you literally would stand here and wait for somebody to give you a ticket. Then you'd try to sell it for $5."

These aren't the old days.

Demand is high. Interest is high. Expectations are through the roof.

Basketball Town USA could traditionally be found somewhere on Tobacco Road - alternating locales between Durham and Chapel Hill - Duke and North Carolina.

Right now you can make an argument that it's just off Neyland Drive on the University of Tennessee campus.

"I would say Chapel Hill and Knoxville could be considered at the top," women's athletic director Joan Cronan said. "I'm absolutely so proud and so excited for both our men's and women's basketball teams and the University of Tennessee.

"What a great time in history. A few weeks ago, the men played Ohio State and the women played Vanderbilt and you had over 40,000 people in Thompson-Boling Arena that weekend. There's no other place in America where that can happen."

The rise to prominence

UT men's basketball sports information director Craig Pinkerton - a Kansas Jayhawk accustomed to success in basketball - has found himself bombarded with media requests.

"Tennessee basketball used to be one of the things to do in Knoxville, and now it has become THE thing to do in Knoxville," Pinkerton said. "The amount of demand on us this past week has been amazing.

"We've crammed more into this last week nationally than we usually do in a whole season. Just how fast it has gotten to this point has been really impressive."

The Tennessee men and third-year head coach Bruce Pearl attained their highest ranking in school history going into Saturday night's match-up against No. 1-ranked Memphis.

Men's athletic director Mike Hamilton, who hired Pearl and orchestrated a multimillion-dollar renovation of Thompson-Boling Arena, is just enjoying the ride.

"I know that I'm trying to take time during all this to sit back and enjoy the moment," he said. "I hope our fans will do that as well. This is one of those special times in our history."

Making believers

The glory years of men's basketball have long been relegated to the Ray Mears era of Ernie Grunfeld and Bernard King in the mid-1970s.

The women's program lives in a perpetual state of glory.

Now UT fans are actually beginning to let the idea of dual national championships creep into their psyche.

Once a nearly laughable concept, it's possible the men's and women's programs will each earn No. 1 seeds to their respective NCAA Tournaments, barring any late-season struggles.

It all looks a little familiar to University of Tennessee president John Petersen.

It reminds him of his final year at Connecticut when he watched the Huskies' men and women each win national championships in 2004.

"I've been at five institutions in 30-something years and this is probably the best-run athletic department I've seen as far as how they do it, values, coaches and what they expect of the athletes," Petersen said. "In the long haul, you're going to do well with a program like that.

"I think it's great. Pat has a great history, and Mike did a great job in terms of hiring Bruce, and the synergy those two have put together has made Pat's program better and put our men's program on the map."

It's Knoxville, Tennessee. It's 337 miles west of Tobacco Road, and a few Tar Heels might be looking over their shoulders.

There's a new show in town.

"As athletic directors," Cronan said, "our job is to provide the best overall program we can for the university, and it's certainly a nice time to be involved with UT.

"The present is exciting, and the future is even more exciting."

Mark Burgess may be reached at 865-342-6277.

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.