Tennessee's Finance and Administration Department has ordered the University of Tennessee to cut $17 million out of its current budget immediately, according to an e-mail from UT President John Petersen to faculty and staff.

Knoxville, UT's flagship campus, faces up to $6 million in cuts. The decision comes after the University was told over the summer to cut $21.2 million. Work is already being made toward that cut, such as the recent restructuring of UT's Speech and Audiology Department.

This most recent budget cut is in response to "the serious economic circumstances facing the state of Tennessee and its residents," Petersen wrote in the e-mail.

UT basketball player Tyler Smith thinks it's going to affect a lot of programs, but said, "You don't want to be unfair to any other students." 

Budget cuts cannot come from the UT athletic program, as it is treated as a separate entity.

Sports management major Kellen Streno identifies recent projects such as the new Howard Baker Center and the Glocker renovation as things that may not have helped, saying "Building all those buildings probably hurt us, too."

Talking about the plans for the cuts, Petersen wrote, "We will focus on protecting our core mission and the quality of our education and research product. Our people are a critical element of that focus."