Monday, Assistant AD Tim East announced the official season ticket sales figures for the 1998 Hokies.  At this point, we have set a record for the fifth year in a row, tallying 17,065 tickets.  This tops last year's total of 16,675.

According to a post on the message board, the ticket office is reporting that sales continue to be brisk, so hopefully, at least a few hundred more will be added to the count before the season starts, and maybe we'll even reach the 18,000 mark.  There are seven weeks to go before Tech's September 5th opener, so there's plenty of time to add to our total.

Of course, 17,000 season tickets pales in comparison to the numbers posted at some of our rival schools.  UVa sold over 26,000 season tickets last year, and WVU is reported as having sold somewhere in the range of 41,000 (they offer some mini-packages that they include in their totals, so it's not the same.  Plus, they've got Ohio State coming to visit!).

There are many, many explanations why Tech doesn't do very well in season ticket sales, despite a rabid (though not large) fan base.  Here are some of the reasons:

• Tech is remotely located from major alumni population centers in Northern VA, Richmond, and the Tidewater area.  Hotel space is tough to get in the NRV, so for those fan bases, making a trip to Hokie Heaven is not an easy proposition.

• The home schedule, although it will improve in the coming years, has been nothing to brag about, and even when our schedule is pretty good, it seems we're playing the same teams over and over (WVU, UVa, Miami, Syracuse, and ECU).  It has been a long, long time since the likes of Florida State dotted Tech's home schedule.

• Game tickets are always readily available on game day.  You can often buy tickets outside the gate for $5 or $10 that people are "dumping."

• In the past, Tech hasn't offered discounts for season tickets, so there was no incentive to buy them if you were going to miss one or two games (this year, they're discounted $3 per game over single-game tickets, for an $18 savings).

To a Hokie psycho like me, those aren't reasons ... they're excuses.   But to each his own, and I'll be the first to admit that the time and money that must be allocated to a season's worth of home games is considerable.  I do it, because I love the Hokies, but not every Hokie is willing.  And it's easy for me - I live in the New River Valley.

In an event, at least we're moving in the right direction.  When I bought my first season ticket in 1994, we only sold about 13,000 that year.   Sometimes it seems like the progress we're making is painfully slow, but at least we're making progress.  And with Clemson on the 1999 home schedule and Texas A&M a few years later (2002 or 2003), the numbers will only continue to go up.

My advice?  Jump on now.  Buying season tickets is a great way to contribute money to the program and get something for that money.  Plus, buying now scores you points on seating priority that'll come in handy in future years, when the schedule improves and the big boys start coming to Lane.

For the complete, "official" story, visit www.hokiesports.com.

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