BLACKSBURG -- Apart from its obvious merits -- size, seating, a big video scoreboard -- Lane Stadium was a fitting place for Virginia Tech to hold its undergraduate commencement Friday night.

The nearly 4,000 undergraduates hail from different places, had different majors and are making different plans. But when asked to recall their most memorable moments from college, nearly all said something about Hokie football -- whether it was the Marcus Vick saga, the ACC Championship or wins over Miami or West Virginia.

And many of them know their way around the field.

"I rushed Miami, UVa, West Virginia," Michael Malcomb said, ticking off the times he ended up on the Lane Stadium turf.

But this time he and his classmates walked over the field in an orderly fashion instead of a mad post-game charge.

And while the stadium wasn't filled to capacity, the students were the show for thousands of cheering people in the stands. Some in the crowd added to the football atmosphere on the chilly evening by chanting "Let's go Hokies" and tailgating in the surrounding parking lots.

"We always tailgate for the football games," said Jim Floyd, a 1974 alumnus from Culpeper who was grilling before the ceremonies.

His daughter Megan Floyd, a psychology and sociology major, said the top event during her four years at Tech was her trip to the Sugar Bowl her junior year.

"Even if you're not a football fan, you get caught up with it," said her boyfriend, Matt Davis, a mechanical engineering major from Springfield who was also graduating Friday.

And the speakers at Friday's event knew their audience.

James Smith, president of the Virginia Tech Alumni Association's board of directors, spoke of how proud he was of several fellow alumni, from scholars to the current minister of higher education in Iraq.

But he received the loudest applause when he mentioned that nine Hokies were selected in this year's NFL draft.

Class president Sumeet Bagai opened his speech by asking his classmates to "rock Lane Stadium" one last time. And he listed "spending Saturdays with 65,000 of your closest friends" among his memories.

Gov. Tim Kaine was the night's keynote speaker. His supporters last fall held signs around Lane Stadium on game days decrying his opponent as a "Wahoo." And even though that's not exactly true -- Jerry Kilgore attended what is today the University of Virginia's College at Wise -- the Republican's orange and blue campaign signs probably didn't play well in Blacksburg.

Kaine's speech touched on profound moments in his life and highlighted the importance of giving to others. But he knew what kind of reaction he was going to get when he opened his speech by saying he would be speaking at UVa in nine days.

The crowd loudly booed.

"In Virginia, that's what we call being bipartisan," he said.