38-0.  Considering Old Dominion started a 17-year old quarterback and were missing four offensive starters, including their top receiver and a 1200 yard rusher, 38-0 sounds about right.  The Hokies started slow (as usual, and more on that later), but wore out the visiting Monarchs over the course of the afternoon.  They went on to win the game handily.

I’m not going to focus on the ODU game much today, except how it relates to some overall points that I want to talk about.  Let’s get started with the Monarch fanbase and how they helped Virginia Tech sell out Lane Stadium.

ODU Fans Traveled Well, and That’s Important

I don’t know exactly how many Old Dominion fans traveled to Blacksburg, but they showed up in pretty good numbers.  In fact, they helped the Hokies sell out the stadium.  That’s another reason why I believe it’s good to play the Monarchs.  They will help sell out Lane, which is something that doesn’t happen very often these days.  They are a cheap opponent, and they will buy tickets.  Playing Old Dominion is financially beneficial to Virginia Tech.  Their fans seemed like pretty good folks, too.

Selling seats is important.  I’ll remind you yet again that the Virginia Tech athletic department ran in the red last year.  Income is critical for the Hokies right now, and every seat sold helps.  Lane Stadium seats just over 65,000 fans, with about 17,000 tickets allocated to students.  Throw out the comp seats that go to recruits and coaches of other programs at Tech (which are down low in the expensive section of the West Stands), and the reality is that the Hokies just don’t have as many seats to sell as many other major programs, so it’s imperative that they sell as many as they can.

...