KNOXVILLE -- The Tennessee basketball team is traveling to Italy for a four-game exhibition tour Aug. 5-15, 2012. Destinations on the trip are Rome, The Vatican City, Florence, Pisa, the Republic of San Marino, Lake Como and Milan.

“This trip is going to be great for our team and also great for our fans,” Vols head coach Cuonzo Martin said. “For our team, it provides a chance to gain valuable time together on and off the court. For our fans, it’s a chance to combine a European vacation with the opportunity to cheer for their Vols while also traveling with the team. They’ll feel like their part of the program – which is how it should be – because they are an important part of everything we do.”

Basketball Travelers, Inc., is offering travel packages that allow fans to accompany the team throughout its tour of Italy. For complete package details, click HERE .

Package prices include round-trip coach airfare, charter bus for all ground transportation, first-class hotel accommodations for nine nights, tickets to all of UT’s exhibition games, sightseeing tours as listed in the team itinerary, a tour escort from Basketball Travelers, Inc., and breakfast at the hotel each morning.

Please note that the Tennessee team itinerary is tentative (excluding the dates) and is subject to change. All package purchasers will be notified in advance of any major changes to the itinerary.

The deadline to purchase the travel package is May 1, 2012. To purchase, please contact Becky at Basketball Travelers, Inc., by calling 425-776-2775 or by emailing Becky@basketballtravelers.com.

Basketball Travelers, Inc. seeks to provide the highest quality product available – a travel experience that is unrivaled in service, value and attention to detail. Rome and Florence were both recently listed on U.S. News & World Report’s list of the “Best European Vacations.”

The Vols will play against club and professional teams during the Italian tour. All of Tennessee’s returning student-athletes, as well as incoming players (with the exception of Division I transfers) are eligible to make the trip to Italy and participate in the exhibition games.

This summer tour gives the Vols a head start on most other schools, which will have to wait until October before they can practice together as a team. Tennessee’s last European tour took place in August 2007 and included stops in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Austria. The Vols posted a 4-1 record on that tour.

Greeneville, Tenn., residents Jerry and Nancy Fortner accompanied the Vols on their 2007 European tour.

“We’ve taken trips all over the world, and that was far and away the best vacation we’ve had,” Jerry Fortner said. “We had an absolutely great time. We traveled with the team, and the coaches and players were great to be around – and I know this current group is the same way. Getting to know the players and socialize with them makes for a great time. Everyone that made the trip felt the same way we did.

“Basketball Travelers is a class act, and they do a great job.”

Italy is a familiar setting for Martin, as he played professional basketball for the Felize Scandone franchise in Avellino, Italy, following his time in the NBA. Former Vol Ron Slay (2000-03) now plays for the same franchise.

(E-mail Stan Crawley at wscrawley@earthlink.net)