For Major League Soccer team Real Salt Lake, travel costs have risen about 15 percent in the past year, said team spokesman Trey Fitz-Gerald. Additional baggage fees have been the biggest drain on the team's budget, he said.

The rising travel costs are an issue the franchise plans to consider going forward as it develops various revenue streams through marketing, concessions and ticket sales, he said.

For local colleges, the increasing cost of travel has had a significant impact on the choices they now have to make.

Jerry Graybeal, director of intercollegiate athletics at Weber State University, said the cost of team travel has increased 20 to 25 percent in the past year. Baggage fees for sports like football and even golf are stretching every team's budget, and the university is examining various ways to contain rising travel expenses, he said.

"We need to look at: Do we need cut back on a trip here or there, or can we cut out a night's stay?" he said.

Weber State's athletics department has considered options such as same-day travel for shorter trips made by bus, or late-night flights rather than those earlier in the day, all of which could reduce the hit to the athletics department's bottom line. The men's golf team has decided not to participate in one of the tournaments they usually attend, "because it's not going to fit into their cost structure."

At bigger athletic programs like the one at the University of Utah, increased costs are just as concerning, according to Pete Oliszczak, the university's associate athletics director for internal operations. His university has even tried to work out agreements with airlines in an attempt to keep costs down. Overall, he estimated that expenses this year have increased 6 to 8 percent from last year.

Brigham Young University is facing the same challenges, said associate athletics director for communications Duff Tittle. He said BYU had reconsidered the way it schedules games based on cost efficiency.

"You may have a couple of options to schedule a team on the road," he said. "You may consider the fact that this team is a little bit closer, so it may be more advantageous to do that."

BYU teams might also reduce the number of players who travel, if they are not regulars, in order to save money. And fewer non-essential staff members would accompany the teams on road trips.

The teams all have budgets that are set a year and a half in advance, Tittle said. His department's policy is that if costs rise, then each sport must find ways to cut costs to stay within their budget.

"It's not like if the economy is rough, we're going to bump everybody's budget up," he said.

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