When asked if he had decided one way or the other on Giacoletti, he said that's a decision that would be evaluated at the end of the season. While he said "this type of evaluation comes from the athletic director," he said U. President Michael Young would be involved in the decision.

Young said Monday he puts a lot of faith in Hill, and said he honestly doesn't know what the decision will be.

"We're making sure we do what's best for the kids, what's fair to the coaches and what's right for the school and program," Young said. "We'll look at all the options, but I don't have any insight on what we'll do at this stage. At the end of the day, you have to do what's best for the program."

As for the declining attendance and how that would affect his decision, Hill said, "There are a series of factors that we look at. We have to evaluate and do what's in the best interests of the program."

Hill also insisted his duties on the NCAA Men's Basketball Committee next week when Utah is playing in the MWC tournament in Las Vegas would not interfere with any decision about Giacoletti, saying his first priority is his job at the University of Utah.

Ultimately the decision may come down to the fan and booster support, no matter what Hill or Young thinks about Giacoletti's coaching ability and whether it's fair to let him go less than halfway through his contract.

The average paid attendance this year is 9,557, down almost 1,000 from last year. It's down almost 5,000 from the peak of 14,281 in 1995-96 and is the lowest since 1975-76, Jerry Pimm's second year. And the actual bodies in the stands are perhaps half the paid number, which means the school is losing money on things like concessions and parking besides fewer ticket sales.

So the university is faced with the possibility of continuing declining revenues with an unpopular coach or forking out a lot of money to buy out a coach and spending even more dough to bring in a new coach who can perhaps turn things around.

Like almost everything else in life, the decision on the future of Utah basketball will likely come down to money.

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E-mail: sor@desnews.com