C.A. "Sandy" Smith, associate athletic director for ticketing services, said some student tickets had been bought by Tech graduates.

"They're student tickets. If you're no longer a student, you don't qualify for a ticket," Smith said. "You're not supposed to order unless you're going to be a student in the fall."

One such alumnus whose ticket was revoked is 2008 Tech graduate Mike Bloom.

"I was under the impression that every year rising alumni was allowed to buy tickets," Bloom said. "I know two or three generations of alumni that just came out of school did. My brother and his friends were allowed to do it without any problems."

Previously, the ticketing department had no way of enforcing this as paper tickets were mailed in August, prior to the university determining who actually qualified as a full-time student.

This year, student season ticket holders were instead mailed electronic scan cards. When the bursar's office released the names of fee-paying, full-time students in the second week of September, the ticketing office took action.

"We knew there were students that abused the program, but we had no way of stopping that because we sent the tickets to the people in August," Smith said.

The former students and part-time students received an e-mail from the ticketing office informing them that their tickets would no longer be valid. The rule follows that if they do not pay the $116 athletic fee, they are not eligible to purchase student tickets.

Bloom said that he feels the most recent graduates should receive tickets because freshmen are not given the option of purchasing season tickets.

"When I was a freshman I was never guaranteed tickets, probably because the rising alumni got tickets the same way I did." Bloom said. "They said I'm no longer a fee-paying student, but when I was a freshman, I was a fee-paying student and I wasn't allowed to buy season tickets."

Part-time students have the option of paying the athletic fee included in a full-time student's tuition. If they do so by Oct. 8, they will retain their tickets.

Former students were referred to the Hokie Club for information on how to purchase tickets in the future. A new Hokie Club member must donate approximately $2,000 a year to secure the right to purchase season tickets. Refunds will not be issued, as student tickets have a face value of $44 per game.

"The students paid $64 for a season ticket, and they got $88 worth of value," for the season's first two home games, Smith said. "So there is no refund for the ticket."

Because of the timing of the announcement, Bloom felt the university intentionally took his money.

"I honestly think that they should have given us the option of buying out the rest of the tickets. It seems to me like they waited till the second game so they could still keep the money we paid," Bloom said. "It is more a fault of their system than some fine print on the Web site that I didn't see."

Smith said the university did not have an accurate list of fee-paying students until Sept.15.

"We don't know who's a full time student until Sept. 15. The bursar can't tell us because people can pay their fees up until then," Smith said.

The revoked tickets will be added to the student ticket lottery system, giving more students the chance to win and attend the remaining football games.

"We take Virginia Tech students very seriously. We don't want to turn any students away," Smith said.

Freshman engineering major Josh Morris said he is happy the tickets have been recovered, as he, like many freshman, has not yet been able to attend this year's home football games.

"They shouldn't get an extra year of school," Morris said. "That would kind of upset me, because it decreases the chance for other students to go."

Because of new scanner technology, Tech's ticketing department will be able to enforce this rule in the future.

"Up until this year, we did not have scanners," Smith said. "We got them last year for basketball, and we're going to check for basketball this year, too."

Students signing up for the men's basketball season ticket lottery will be checked to verify that they are full-time students for the entirety of the season.

While the e-mail sent to those affected said Blacksburg police would deal with people attempting to use revoked cards, Smith said the invalid cards would simply be taken.

• The man under fire: Stinespring weathers public ire
• Hokies, Blue devils to duke it out; Tech tries to extend series reign
• Taking a look at ACC title contenders