A trip to play in Hawaii sounded like the perfect reward for the seniors on the Longwood University baseball team. The Farmville, Va., school had made the jump to Division I, and coach Buddy Bolding thought the Lancers deserved a memorable end to the 2009 season.

Phone calls were made. Prices were gauged. Money was raised. Then airfare from Virginia jumped $600, to $1,300 a ticket. Suddenly Longwood was saying "aloha" to paradise -- and not as in hello.

"It's a damn shame, that's all there is to it," Bolding said. "It's really a bummer."

The sky-high price of oil is wreaking havoc on athletic travel budgets, particularly for minor league teams and smaller schools.

Oil prices are up more than 60 percent from a year ago, and a gallon of gas is 82 cents more expensive.

The problem goes far beyond cross-country farewell trips: It's forcing teams to re-evaluate how, why and where they play all their games.

Longwood, about an hour west of Richmond, Va., has spent much of the decade making the jump to from NCAA Division II to Division I, preventing the baseball team from being eligible for postseason play and leaving it without a conference.

"We know we're missing out on a quality experience for the student athletes, but it's too big a load to bear," said athletic director Troy Austin. "All the benefits inherent with the conference situation were not enough for us to forget about the travel costs."

Consider the problems for minor league baseball: The Pacific Coast League is spread out among 16 teams in three time zones, and the league's 144-game schedule makes bus travel nearly impossible.

Though some teams receive financial help from their big-league partners, it's not nearly enough to offset the soaring cost of getting a group of about 30 players, coaches and support staff across half the country.

"We are irrevocably married to commercial transportation," said Branch Rickey, president of the PCL and grandson of the legendary Dodgers executive. "There is no room for divorce. We can't get into Priuses or onto buses and solve our problems."

Most teams were able to lock in good deals for the current season before the recent price surge, but they weren't prepared for the new baggage surcharges some airlines began imposing to offset jet fuel costs.

Augusta GreenJackets general manager Nick Brown said the team dodged the gas bullet this year because the team locked in a deal with their bus company in October. The team may not be as fortunate next season.

"We expect our travel costs to go up significantly for next year," Brown said. "In fact, we anticipate being hit in every expense across the board because of it."

Minor league baseball bills itself as an affordable, family-friendly experience and can't afford to raise prices too much.

Fans could just easily stay home or go to the movies.

So far, the economic downturn hasn't hurt the PCL at the gate, but don't be surprised if the price of nachos and a cold one goes up 50 cents.

"We're just trying to stay one step ahead," Albuquerque Isotopes general manager John Traub said.