Before he graduated from Houston High School in Germantown, Michael Hogue had won a state pole-vault title and broken the state record in the event.

All of which, he knew, wasn't going to earn him much in the way of scholarship offers.

"With only 12-and-a-half scholarships for track,'' said Hogue, a Tennessee junior, "they can't spend that much on a guy who just does one event.''

What little Hogue was offered to pole vault, senior UT baseball pitcher Craig Cobb was offered even less coming out of Farragut High School.

"After we won the state tournament,'' Cobb recalled, "Coach (Rod Delmonico) called me up and said, 'I like how you pitch. We could maybe use you.

" 'You've got a jersey here if you'd like to walk on.' ''

Aside from football and basketball there are few full rides out there for athletes pursuing college careers in other sports. Scholarship offers range from nearly everything to nearly nothing.

"Everyone offers you pretty much something different,'' said UT decathlete Chris Helwick. "It's kind of like a negotiation.''

When Helwick, who is from Greeley, Colo., chose to come to UT it wasn't because track coach Bill Webb came up with the most dough.

"Tennessee offered me the least amount of money by far,'' said Helwick, who is a six-time All-American in the decathlon and pentathlon.

"It was the least money but by far the best school. There was no comparison, no debate in my mind at all.''

Tennessee frequently doesn't make the best dollar offer. But it hopes to win in the end with a package that includes top-of-the-line facilities, a tradition of success and a chance to compete in the SEC.

"That's how you know you've arrived on the national front,'' said UT soccer coach Angela Kelly, "when you get the best talent in the country for less than a full scholarship.''

Earlier in Cobb's recruitment he had -- citing burnout -- turned down a significant scholarship offer from East Tennessee State.

Then he decided to accept Delmonico's invitation. "That's where I was going to school anyway,'' he said.

Cobb will leave ranking No. 2 in career innings pitched for UT. Over time, he began to accrue some athletic scholarship money.

"Kind of like a reward for sticking with it and performing well,'' Cobb said.

Freshman baseball player Jeff Lockwood said UT made him a "good" scholarship offer. So he signed with the Vols out of Halls.

"I got my fair share of offers,'' he said. "I just decided to come here. That's where I always wanted to play.''

Lockwood hit .315 and doubles as a relief pitcher. Being local, Lockwood is a bargain.

"I live at home,'' he said, "so that saves them about a half of a scholarship they can give to somebody else.''

Hogue also has proved to be a bargain. He's won three SEC vault titles and is headed to the NCAA meet.

"I got a little extra money one spring semester when we had a little extra,'' Hogue said, "but I told Coach Webb I was an in-state guy with a little academic help.

"I was happy, I wasn't going anywhere so if he can use that money to advance the team, that's what I wanted him to do.''