Ok, let's go through this point-by-incorrect-point.
- Virtually every school, including UT, refunded a prorated portion of room and board for the spring semester. Yes, staffing costs went down, but the fixed costs on housing (mostly debt service on the buildings and utilities) did not decrease, so schools actually lost money rather than saving or making it.
- Tuition went up slightly, but it was an increase in line with past years.
- Classes were not "cut short" for this fall. They simply eliminated fall break and moved up the end of the semester. The total number of instruction days remained the same.
- There is little cost savings for the school in online classes versus in-person. The biggest cost remains staffing and they're paying the same number of instructors to teach the same number of classes.
- Band travel is an insignificant number for the athletics department, who funds most of the band travel. Due to performance restrictions that opponents put in for a normal year, the full band would have only traveled once this season and it wouldn't have been an overnight trip. A pep band would have made overnight trips to Oklahoma and Arkansas. The cost savings for the band not traveling this year is less than $100k. Does UT need that money? Sure. But it's a drop in the bucket in a $140 million budget.
- No professors were laid off by Tennessee this spring/summer. Professors are on annual salaries, no matter how many classes are taught. But UT offered the same number of summer classes as always, they were just online. Instructors were responsible for the same number of classes as in a usual year.