Collegiate Times

Fall Saturday afternoons in Blacksburg are defined by Virginia Tech football. From the early morning tailgating to the deafening rendition of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” as the team prepares to take the field,

Hokie football games are an absolutely essential experience for every student.

For freshmen and transfer students, however, getting tickets to games can be quite difficult.

First-years at Tech can’t buy season tickets, so they are left to try their luck through an online lottery system, at www.hokietickets.com/student.

The lottery works on a game-by-game basis. It will opens up exactly two weeks prior to each home game, and is open for 48 hours. Have your PID ready, as this is what you will use to register for a ticket.

If you are selected in the lottery, you will be notified by e-mail and given an online “ticket” in the form of a PDF barcode, which you will need to take to the ticket office located inside the main doors of Cassell Coliseum, on the designated days for pick-up.

It does not matter what time you register online or when you pick up your ticket. The seating locations are randomly organized.

If you do not receive a ticket, do not fear. Any unclaimed tickets will be placed in a pool for the second round lottery. You must have entered the lottery the first time around to be eligible for a second round ticket.

Most tickets in the lottery are for the upper sections of the South end zone, while some are along the East end zone and there have even been some rare occasions where a lucky student landed a precious North end zone ticket.

Want to go with some friends? Not a problem. Just gather everyone’s barcodes (up to 30), and present them all at the ticket office together when you will receive your group’s tickets.

If you fail in your efforts for a ticket in the first two rounds, you have a few options to still find a ticket.

The best option is to make your Facebook status something like “Needs a ticket to the game!” If you have enough friends, you will be sure to find someone offering up a spare ticket. There are always students selling tickets in the residence halls as well.

Usually you can find a ticket for no more than $20, depending on the game. Scalpers will also be present on game day, but they normally try to sell tickets in pairs so try to find someone else who needs a ticket.

Students are prohibited to sell lottery tickets for a price. If Tech catches you trying to sell your lottery ticket, you will lose the ability to enter the lottery for the rest of the season. Don’t enter the lottery with the intention of just selling the ticket.