Although he did not attend Penn State University as an undergraduate, Chuck Migliaccio has been a diehard Penn State football fan since 1976 and a season ticket holder since 1994.

About three or four times a season, Migliaccio rents a car and makes the four-hour trip from New York City to Beaver Stadium. He even attended games during the last two losing seasons when many Nittany Lion fans were second-guessing the football team's status as a perennial football powerhouse.

Unlike past years, Migliaccio almost did not renew his season tickets for the 2002 football season for a combination of reasons, but eventually purchased the eight game ticket package.Apparently Migliaccio is not alone in his reluctance to buy. Renewal rates for Penn State football season tickets dropped from 98.7 percent in 2001 to 96.5 percent in 2002.

The reasons are many, but the higher cost of season tickets seems to be primary cause of the decrease.

"Finances are my main reason for hesitating," said Migliaccio, who sells the tickets to the few home games he doesn't attend over the Internet.

The price of an individual ticket for the season package increased from $36 to $38.

Factor in the eight home games and the total cost of season tickets for the public sector is $304, an increase of $88 from last year's cost of $216.

Consequently, the price for single game tickets also saw an increase from $40 to $42 per game.

A more than 2 percent drop in renewal translates to about 1,200 tickets left unsold to previous public sector season ticket holders, according to Bud Meredith, manager of ticket operations.

"It's the largest decline in season ticket renewals that I have seen," Meredith said.

Despite the lower renewal rate, Meredith said he was confident that the void in sales would be made up with new season ticket applicants from the Nittany Lion Club, an alumni organization that gives financial support to varsity athletics and has priority in purchasing football tickets.

Student tickets account for about 21,000 seats, while the pubic sector seats account for about 70,000.

The remaining tickets are reserved for corporate obligations and single game sales.

Meredith also pointed out that single game ticket prices for other Big Ten teams run a few dollars more per game compared to Penn State, including Michigan and Ohio State games which cost $44 and $45, respectively.

While some are quick to point the finger at high-ticket prices, Migliaccio pointed out more reasons for the lower renewal rate, including an unattractive home schedule and two back-to-back losing seasons.

"The only home game that is attractive is Nebraska," he said, referring to the Sept. 14 game against the Cornhuskers. "Even with an unattractive six game schedule, I would buy regardless."

The rest of the home schedule includes the likes of Central Florida, Louisiana Tech, Iowa, Northwestern, Illinois, Virginia, and Michigan State.

With the exception of Nebraska, who finished No. 7 in the nation, none of the other teams the Nittany Lions face finished in ESPN/USA Today's Top-25 for the 2001 college football season.

"People still have the two recent bad seasons in the back of their minds, although it's far from the only reason they're not buying," Migliaccio said. "The losing seasons are the last reason people are reluctant to renew."

Although there appears to be a lengthy list of reasons why renewing season tickets is a bad investment, Migliaccio pointed out two positive reasons to shell out the money.

Reason one: Penn State marquee quarterback, Zack Mills.

Reason two: Incoming blue-chip freshmen.

"People want to see what he (Mills) can do," said Migliaccio. "Fans will also want to see Calvin Lowry, Brandon Snow and Tamba Hali, regardless if they play or not because Penn State is an East-coast school."

Lowry, Snow and Hali are all members of a stellar 2002 recruiting class at Penn State.

Both Snow and Hali were ranked in the top 100 recruits in America, said ESPN's recruiting expert, Tom Lemming.

Lowry graduated from high school a semester early to enroll at Penn State in the spring of 2002, and has been practicing with the team since then.

Still, for the diehard Nittany Lion football fan like Migliaccio, simply being part of the Penn State football tradition is good enough reason to continue buying tickets.

"I don't care if Penn State goes 0-10," Migliaccio said. "My interest has a lot to do with Joe Paterno's integrity and his stress on academics. I have to support a team like that."

Penn State football fans only have to wait about a month and a half for football action to return to Beaver Stadium.

The Nittany Lions host the Central Florida Golden Knights on Saturday August 31 to kick off the 2002 season.