Say what you — or others — will about the economy and the strains these times have put on people, but WVU fans continue to support their school and its teams.

Niles Eggleston, executive director of the Mountaineer Athletic Club, said the MAC closed its books June 30 for the 2009-10 fiscal year and recorded an unaudited total of $18.6 million.

The MAC reported audited totals of $15.01 million and $13.85 million the previous two years.

“First and foremost, we have the best fans in the nation,” Eggleston said. “They are so passionate about this program and supporting it and being a part of it and helping our student-athletes achieve. We’re going to keep raising money because the people love (WVU) and they’re competitive and they want to keep doing it.”

As I was working on this story, someone asked me how much of this had to do with season ticket sales for football. Presumably a lot, that person reasoned.

That person was correct. The “gifts” or “donations” that are required for most, though not all, season tickets go a long way toward the big number at the end. It’s the key source toward the “annual fund” in the athletic department, which accounts for between 65 and 70 percent of the final number. The fund essentially allows the athletic department to pay bills, none bigger than the $7 million-ish scholarship bill.

“But,” the person said, “aren’t season tickets doing bad?”

“Meaning?”

“People aren’t buying them, or don’t want to buy them, like they did before.”

Well, maybe bad isn’t the right word. Great is not, either.

At the end of April – and two weeks before the priority deadline – WVU had sold only around 7,000 season tickets and was about 500 behind where it was a year earlier. Sales ended at about 22,500 at the priority deadline May 15, which was about even with the previous year. At the end of the month, and after forms postmarked at the priority deadline and received after had been processed, the total was around 29,750 – slightly behind the previous year’s pace.

Director of Sports Marketing Matt Wells said WVU has sold about 33,000 season tickets. It’s about 1,000 behind the previous year’s pace, but the Mountaineers also are enjoying a 90-percent renewal rate.

Wells said WVU will release information later this week about re-opening season ticket sales to the public for the second straight football season. WVU didn’t do that for the 2007 and 2008 seasons.