DATE: Monday, September 8, 1997             TAG: 9709080047

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B11  EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS 

DATELINE: BLACKSBURG                        LENGTH:   40 lines

VA. TECH INTRODUCES TICKET LOTTERY FOR STUDENTS

Getting tickets to Hokies football games used to be almost as much fun as watching the team on the field - until Virginia Tech decided to end the tradition of fans camping out for tickets.

Students would start lining up a week in advance. Some pitched tents. Some carted sofas for maximum comfort. Then came the beer kegs, and the crowds grew into an impromptu block party.

But there were no such hordes Friday. When tickets went on sale for Tech's home opener against Syracuse on Saturday, students showed up outside Cassell Coliseum. In an orderly fashion, they wrote their names on 3-inch-by-5-inch cards. Officials then picked names at random to determine the order of the line.

``It's a little bit disappointing, eliminating a tradition like that,'' said Rob Crawford, a 23-year-old senior and Tech cheerleader. ``They're just trying to put a leash on us, beat us down.''

The past practice of allowing students to camp out had gotten out of hand, officials said. Members of large groups waited in shifts for up to a week for big games, occasionally turning Washington Street into a raucous makeshift village. There were parties, sing-alongs and even movie nights with VCRs running on portable generators.

``At night, it got a little rowdy out there,'' Tech spokesman Dave Nutter said.

Some also were leaving piles of trash, stealing furniture from nearby dormitories and urinating on the ground, according to officials.

Last spring, a committee of students and administrators decided to change the system.

``The evidence from this morning is that it worked pretty well,'' said Dean of Students Cathryn Goree, who monitored Friday's low-key affair.

Lanny Cross, Tech's vice president for student affairs, said students have been waiting in line for tickets to athletic events for decades but they started camping out in droves only about four years ago.

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