"We had to have good employment, and most of that money I had to use to pay to get them into school," he said. "Some way or another, it always worked out, because I endeavored to be a full tithepayer (10 percent of one's gross income). We had to forego buying the things we thought we really needed and spend only for the necessities. Every time the fees were due, some way or another things worked out. It's been a miracle. I know it's been an answer to that prayer."

The children contributed heavily.

"We got the children up here by making great sacrifices, and all of them got some sort of scholarship and were able to find employment on campus," Victor said. "Spencer has been able to support himself since the first year on campus."

The family has made having a computer in the home a priority since Victor purchased an Apple II in 1982, the year Spencer was born.

"We put him on the keyboard when he was three, and he took to it like a duck to water, and he has never looked back," his father said.

Now the children of Victor and Verna Nugent, BYU grads all, have provided their parents with nine grandchildren. BYU's steady enrollment cap and the growing pool of potential LDS students makes it increasingly unlikely that they could duplicate their parents' feat, but Victor Nugent would love to see it happen.

"Hopefully they'll all be able to go to BYU," Victor Nugent said. "That would be a treat."

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E-mail: twalch@desnews.com