The Virginia Tech ticket office reports that all season tickets and single-game tickets are sold out for the 2001 football season. The only remaining tickets are the 17,000 seats per game that are reserved for the students and student guests.

Seats are allocated for visiting teams, but those tickets are not available through the Tech ticket office. They will be available only through opposing team's ticket offices. Typically, no tickets are returned as unsold by visiting teams, so it is very unlikely that Virginia Tech will have any tickets available beyond the student allotment.

In addition to picking up their student tickets, students are allowed to purchase a certain number of student guest tickets for home games. The number of allowable guest tickets varies from game to game, and students will be notified as to the number of allowable guest tickets prior to each game. Any student guest tickets that are purchased are taken from the allotment of 17,000 student tickets.

Stadium capacity is estimated at 52,389 for the 2001 season. Capacity was 55,075 for the 2000 season, and with the loss of 3268 North end zone bleacher seats and the addition of 582 new seats at field level in the South end zone (for band seating), that brings capacity to an estimated 52,389.

Announced attendance for 2001 games will probably be higher than capacity. In 2000, Tech's attendance was 56,272 for each home game, despite capacity being listed as only 55,075.

The number of season tickets sold was not available and will be announced later. It may be roughly equal to last year's figure, because although seating capacity has diminished, the number of tickets allocated to visitors has also decreased this year. Virginia and West Virginia, which visit Tech during even-year seasons (1998, 2000, etc.), have higher visitor ticket allocations than other Tech opponents. This means that during odd-year seasons (1999, 2001, etc.), fewer tickets on average are allocated to visiting opponents, making more tickets available for Tech season ticket holders.

This marks the second straight year that Virginia Tech has sold out season tickets, and the second straight year that all home games have been sold out prior to the season.

Virginia Tech also announced that 2001 season football tickets would be shipped starting on Wednesday, Aug. 1. Tickets will be shipped via Federal Express, which will begin processing the first shipment of the packages marked for Second Day Delivery on Wednesday. Due to the number of tickets being shipped, some packages may not be en route until Thursday or Friday.

Individuals with post office boxes will have their packages sent via First Class Mail. The Athletic Ticket Office anticipates that most customers will have their tickets in hand by Aug. 10.

In yet another blow to the Tech men's basketball team, forward Danny Gathings has withdrawn from school and will not return to the team. Virginia Tech acknowledged Gathing's departure in a July 27th press release which has since been deleted from the hokiesportsinfo.com web site.

In a staff report in the July 28th edition of the Roanoke Times, the split appeared to be amicable. Gathings was quoted as saying, "Due to family and personal concerns, I regret that I will have to withdraw from school at this time. I enjoyed my time in Blacksburg, and will miss the players, coaches and fans that supported me."

Tech head coach Ricky Stokes was quoted by the Roanoke Times as saying, "We are sorry that Danny is leaving our program. But we understand that personal concerns come first. Danny is a fine young man, and we wish him well in the future."

Gathings, a 6-4 four rising sophomore from Winston-Salem, NC, appeared in 20 games last year, starting one. He averaged 18.6 minutes, 7.0 points, and 3.2 rebounds per game. Gathings was a solid backup with tremendous leaping ability and a knack for surprising bigger opponents with his baseline drives.

Gathings is the latest in a series of early player exits over the last three years. Since the end of the 1997-98 season, the Tech men's basketball team has lost at least 13 players to transfers, departures and dismissals: Dennis Mims, Rolan Roberts, Jenis Grindstaff, Kenny Harrell, Clint McPherson, Jermaine Kilgore, Jesus Rodriguez, David Whaley, Tony Dobbins, Brian Felts, Rodrigo Viegas, Chris Exilus, and Gathings have all left the team or been dismissed for various reasons.

This month at TechSideline.com is TSL Extra Month. Every year, during the month of August, Tech football fans flock back to Tech Sideline in record numbers, and to introduce those who haven't been here since last year to the TSL Extra, we're going to be running special promotions, and we're going to give away a $100 shopping spree at TechLocker.com!

After just nine short months, the TSL Extra is close to getting its 1,000th subscriber -- we're close enough that we know it's going to happen this month, and soon. Sign up during the month of August, and if you're subscriber #1,000, we'll give you a $100 shopping spree at TechLocker.com.

To highlight the TSL Extra and give you an idea of the great articles and coverage in the TSLX, we're going to feature a TSL Extra "Quote of the Day." Each day, we'll pull an interesting quote from issues 1-9 of the TSL Extra and put it on the message board. We'll also keep the quotes compiled into a single page promoting August as TSL Extra Month (click the link to see quotes 1 and 2 for August 1st and 2nd).

Since we're getting started a day late, we'll do the first two quotes here. Take a look, and if you're not a subscriber, sign up today to have your shot at being #1,000 and winning the TechLocker.com shopping spree!

TSL Extra Quote of the Day: Thursday, August 2, 2001
"Our style of play at Tech, the way the coaches attack practice, the way Coach Gentry prepared you mentally and physically in the weight room … no professional football team gets after it like we did at Virginia Tech," -- Corey Moore, former Virginia Tech All-American defensive end. TSL Extra issue #5.

TSL Extra Quote of the Day: Wednesday, August 1, 2001
"I was amazed at how open and honest he was. Some of these questions were tough questions. And I didn't want to pull any punches. He didn't want to talk about the arrests (1996) that much, or firing the assistant coaches (1993). I was really surprised that he was that open about things." -- Chris Colston, author of Turn up the Wick!, talking about Frank Beamer. TSL Extra issue #1.

While Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer holds his first annual Ladies' Football Clinic Saturday, Virginia Tech ISP Sports Network radio broadcasters Bill Roth and Mike Burnop will be hosting a lunch and "Q&A session for the guys" at the Gobbertown Tavern in Christiansburg starting at 1 p.m.

Coach Beamer is going to have a great crowd of over 500 ladies, learning about Tech football on Saturday. "But, we wondered what the guys were going to go during the event." Roth said. "That's why we decided to have a Q&A session over at Gobblertown."

Starting at 1 p.m., Roth and Burnop, one of college football's longest running broadcasting tandems, will field questions from Tech fans in attendance at Gobblertown Tavern and talk about the upcoming season. Then, the 2000 Tech highlight video will be shown.

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