"Stick It In" is out at Lane Stadium.

When the struggling Virginia Tech offense manages to get near the goal line again this season, the familiar double-entendre tune accompanied by gyrations from fans in the stands won't be played by the Marching Virginians.

Last week, athletic director Jim Weaver told band director David McKee that the tune could no longer be played.

Tech spokesman Larry Hincker said the decision was Weaver's but the university fully supports it. It's a good message to send and jibes with the spirit of the Hokie Respect campaign to curb crude fan behavior at games, he added.

"I have seen many pieces of correspondence over the years from people saying it was disgusting and revolting," Hincker said of the chant and the sexual gyrations that accompany it.

Hincker said Weaver made the decision based on years of negative feedback from football fans and not because Tech has been in the national spotlight since the April 16 shootings. But Hincker did say that the university has to be more careful about its image because of the increased notoriety.

McKee said the band came up with the diddy about 1995. Fans chant "Oh-ohhh, oh-ohhh" to the band's drum beat followed by "stick it in, stick it in, stick it in" when the drums stop. The tune has grown in popularity and now fans even wear "Stick It In" T-shirts to games.

McKee declined to comment on the decision to ban the song, referring questions to Weaver and Hincker. Weaver did not return calls Tuesday.

Weaver has championed the Hokies Respect campaign and has discouraged fans from wearing profane T-shirts and booing opponents. Shortly after the campaign was launched in 2003 the Marching Virginians agreed to stop playing the song "Na Na Hey Hey (Kiss Him Goodbye)" during the final moments of a victory because the athletic department deemed the lyrics disrespectful.

The decision to nix "Stick It In" has been debated for more than a year. A letter to the editor in the winter 2007 edition of Virginia Tech magazine described the chant as "offensive and a poor reflection on the Hokies, even more so when broadcast on national television." But several people responded saying the cheer was harmless.

Virginia Tech isn't the only school that uses some variation of "Stick It In." Navy, University of North Carolina, University of Connecticut and Blacksburg High School use the cheer -- or a variation -- at games.

As of Tuesday afternoon, more than 3,500 people had joined a group on social-networking site Facebook to salvage the chant. Band member Greg Bringhurst, who started the group, said McKee wants the Marching Virginians to come up with something new.

"I made it just to let the students know what was going on just so it didn't disappear," he said.

"The thing is, that's such a big part of the games and everything. You can't just all of a sudden go and come up with something else."

His group's members are asking people to e-mail Weaver and a few people have mentioned protesting outside a Blacksburg business on Monday during Weaver's appearance on the "Hokie Hotline" radio show.

"The thing is, it's a college football game. It's not disrespecting the other team or fans in any way," Bringhurst said.

Ken Stanton, a graduate student on the athletic committee of the Graduate Student Assembly, is putting together a resolution outlining what changes the students want.

"I understand it's a big issues for students, but it's always the people who are complaining who you hear from first," Stanton said.

"The people who are in support of this decision need to be heard from, too."