Appalachian State players sit and watch as Tech fans
participate in the "dizzy bat race" on the court Tuesday prior to
the game being postponed (photo by Tony Marable)
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- A large, noisy and enthusiastic crowd was in
place Tuesday night for Tennessee Tech's home opener, but the game
had to be postponed when Appalachian State and the Southern
Conference failed to provide game officials.
By contract, the Mountaineers were responsible for scheduling the
officials since the contest was a return meeting from last year's
BracketBuster game in Boone, N.C. Tech and the OVC provided the
officials for that game.
Tennessee Tech officials worked with the OVC office and the
league's director of officials to find an alternate crew but could
not come up with any solutions. Now the two schools are looking at
options for rescheduling the game but have not come up with any
suitable dates.
While the teams continued to prepare for the game after the
scheduled starting time of 7 p.m., Tech Athletics officials offered
free Pepsi soft drinks and popcorn to fans, and threw dozens of
t-shirts into the stands. Fans were entertained by several contests
on the court, and the players for the two teams sat on the benches
and watched the goings-on. Some players even got into the action or
went into the crowd to meet with fans.
Once it was determined that the game would not take place Tuesday
night, Tech announced a refund or exchange options for fans who had
purchased tickets. Fans who purchased tickets to the game were
offered a full refund Tuesday night at the ticket office.
The other option is that fans who are still holding their ticket
stubs for the Nov. 23 game (including season ticket holders) can
now trade for tickets to future Tech games. Tech is offering fans a
chance to exchange each ticket for two tickets to a future
game.
The ticket office will be open Wednesday (Nov. 24), but will be
closed Thursday through Sunday for the Thanksgiving holiday. The
ticket office will be open Saturday (Nov. 27) at 5 p.m. for the
women's game at 6 p.m. against Tennessee Wesleyan. The ticket
office will resume regular hours next Monday.
For additional information on the ticket exchange, please call the
ticket office at (931) 372-3940.