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.