This privacy statement discloses the internet privacy practices for the Virginia Tech Athletics Department and it's suite of sites linked to www.hokiesports.com.

hokiesports.com demonstrates its commitment to your privacy by agreeing to notify you of:

1. Personally identifiable information or third party information that is collected from you through the hokiesports.com suite of sites
2. The organization collecting the information
3. How the information is used
4. With whom the information may be shared
5. What choices are available to you regarding collection, use and distribution of the information
6. The kind of security procedures that are in place to protect the loss, misuse or alteration of information under Virginia Tech Athletics Department control
7. How you can correct any inaccuracies in the information.

   If during the use of hokiesports.com you feel that we are not abiding by the posted privacy policy, you should contact
   Damian Salas, Director of Internet Services
   by email at hokipoki@vt.edu
   by phone at (540) 231-8816 or
   by mail to 402 Cassell Coliseum (0502)
   Blacksburg, Virginia 24061
   

   Information Collection and Use

   Virginia Tech Athletics Department is the sole owner of the information collected on this site. We will not sell, share, or rent this information to others in any manner different from what is disclosed in this statement. Virginia Tech Athletics Department collects information from our users at several different points on our website. Listed below are the points at which hokiesports.com may collect information.

   Registration

   In order to use the portion of our site known as hokiesports.com-the newspaper, a user must first complete the registration form. During registration a user is required to give their contact information (such as name and email address). This information is used to contact the user about the services on our site for which they have expressed interest.

   Order

   We request information from the user on our subscription order form for hokiesports.com-the newspaper and for online ticket purchases from hokietickets.com. Here a user must provide contact information (like name and shipping address) and financial information (like credit card number, expiration date). This information is used for billing purposes and to fill customer's orders. If we have trouble processing an order, this contact information is used to get in touch with the user.

   Cookies

   A cookie is a piece of data stored on the user's hard drive containing information about the user. Usage of a cookie is in no way linked to any personally identifiable information while on our site. Once the user closes their browser, the cookie simply terminates. For instance, by setting a cookie on our site, the user would not have to log in a password more than once, thereby saving time while on our site. If a user rejects the cookie, they may still use all portions of our site not contained within hokiesports.com-the newspaper. Cookies can also enable us to track and target the interests of our users to enhance the experience on our site.

   If you choose to click through on our site to our advertisers, please be aware that some of our online partners also use cookies. We have no access to, or control over these cookies. Please read the privacy policy of the site you visit to find out more about that sites' privacy practices.

   Log Files

   We use IP addresses to analyze trends, administer the site, track user's movement with in our site, and gather broad demographic information for aggregate use. IP addresses are not linked to personally identifiable information.

   Sharing

   We will share aggregated demographic information with our partners and advertisers. This is not linked to any personal information that can identify any individual person.

   We use a credit card processing company to bill users for goods and services. These companies are not permitted to retain, share, store or use personally identifiable information for any secondary purposes.

   If we partner with another party to provide specific services. When the user signs up for these services, we will share names, or other contact information that is necessary for the third party to provide these services.

   These parties are not allowed to use personally identifiable information except for the purpose of providing these services.

   Links

   This web site contains links to other sites. Please be aware that the Virginia Tech Athletics Department is not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our site and to read the privacy statements of each and every web site that collects personally identifiable information. This privacy statement applies solely to information collected by this Web site.

   Newsletter

   If a user wishes to subscribe to our listserv, we ask for contact information such as name and email address.

   This information is for internal purposes and is not shared with 3rd parties.

   Surveys & Contests

   From time-to-time our site requests information from users via surveys or contests. Participation in these surveys or contests is completely voluntary and the user therefore has a choice whether or not to disclose this information. Information requested may include contact information (such as name and shipping address), and demographic information (such as zip code, age level). Contact information will be used to notify the winners and award prizes. Survey information will be used for purposes of monitoring or improving the use and satisfaction of this site.

   Tell-A-Friend

   If a user elects to use our referral service for informing a friend about our site, we ask them for the friend's name and email address. Virginia Tech Athletics Department will automatically send the friend a one-time email inviting them to visit the site. Virginia Tech Athletics Department stores this information for the sole purpose of sending this one-time email. The friend may contact Virginia Tech Athletics Department at hokipoki@vt.edu to request the removal of this information from their database.

   Security

   This website takes precautions to protect our users' information. When users submit sensitive information via the website, your information is protected both online and off-line.

   When our registration/order form asks users to enter sensitive information (such as credit card number and/or social security number), that information is encrypted and is protected with the best encryption software in the industry - SSL. While on a secure page, such as our order form, the lock icon on the bottom of Web browsers such as Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer becomes locked, as opposed to un-locked, or open, when you are just 'surfing". To learn more about SSL, follow this link http://www.verisign.com.

   While we use SSL encryption to protect sensitive information online, we also do everything in our power to protect user-information off-line. All of our users' information, not just the sensitive information mentioned above, is restricted in our offices. Only employees who need the information to perform a specific job (for example, a billing clerk , a customer service representative or ticket order processing personnel) are granted access to personally identifiable information. Personal information not linked to financial transactions are stored for customer service purpose only. Our employees use password-protected screen-savers when they leave their desk. When they return, they must re-enter their password to re-gain access to your information. Furthermore, ALL employees are kept up-to-date on our security and privacy practices. Every quarter, as well as any time new policies are added, our employees are notified and/or reminded about the importance we place on privacy, and what they can do to ensure our customers' information is protected. Finally, the servers that we store personally identifiable information on are kept in a secure environment, within a locked cabinet.

   If you have any questions about the security at our website, you can send an email to hokiesportssecurity@vt.edu.

   Supplementation of Information

   In order for this website to properly fulfill its obligation to our customers, it is necessary for us to supplement the information we receive with information from 3rd party sources.

   Special Offers

   We send all subscribers to hokiesports.com-the newspaper a welcoming email to verify password and username. Established members will occasionally receive information on products, services, special deals, and a newsletter. Out of respect for the privacy of our users we present the option to not receive these types of communications. Please see our choice and opt-out below.

   Site and Service Updates

   We also send the user site and service announcement updates. Members are not able to un-subscribe from service announcements, which contain important information about the service. We communicate with the user to provide requested services and in regards to issues relating to their account via email or phone.

   Correction/Updating Personal Information:

   If a user's personally identifiable information changes (such as your zip code), or if a user no longer desires our service, we will endeavor to provide a way to correct, update or remove that user's personal data provided to us. This can usually be done at the member information page or by emailing our Customer Support at hokipoki@vt.edu.

   Choice/Opt-out

   Our users are given the opportunity to "opt-out" of having their information used for purposes not directly related to our site at the point where we ask for the information. For example, our order form has an "opt-out" mechanism so users who make a purchase from us, but don't want any marketing material, can keep their email address off of our lists.

   Users who no longer wish to receive our newsletter or promotional materials from our partners may opt-out of receiving these communications by replying to unsubscribe in the subject line in the email or email us at hokipoki@vt.edu.

   Users of our site are always notified when their information is being collected by any outside parties. We do this so our users can make an informed choice as to whether they should proceed with services that require an outside party, or not.

   Notification of Changes

   If we change our privacy policy, we will post those changes on our Homepage so our users are always aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under circumstances, if any, we disclose it. If at any point we decide to use personally identifiable information in a manner different from that stated at the time it was collected, we will notify users by way of an email. Users will have a choice as to whether or not we use their information in this different manner. We will use information in accordance with the privacy policy under which the information was collected.