This past Friday and Saturday, the Virginia Tech Athletic Fund held their annual summer Hokie Club Presidents Meetings, and sources tell TSL that Hokie Club revenue for the 2003-2004 academic year was an incredible $18.58 million, up from $14.38 million last year and $10.3 million just three years ago.

The fund was boosted by two $1 million donations, one of which went to VT's athletic scholarship endowment, and one to the renovation of VT's new golf course.

At this point, the $18.58 million figure is an estimate. The Hokie Club's fiscal years end on June 30th, so the VTAF will soon know exactly how much money was raised when all donations have cleared and financial records are up to date.

The $18 million figure continues a sharp upward trend in Hokie Club donations, which have nearly tripled in just the last six years.

The increase in donations comes from existing Hokie Club members upgrading their memberships. Hokie Club membership has been relatively steady at just over 12,000 members for a couple of years now, but within the ranks of membership, many people are upgrading in order to improve their parking lots for football tailgating, and to get a chance at men's basketball season tickets as the Hokies enter the ACC.

With Lane Stadium west side expansion scheduled to be complete for the 2005 football season, with the accompanying reseating, Hokie Club members are expected to continue to donate more, in order to get the best seats possible.