diff --git a/var/spack/repos/builtin/packages/tophat/package.py b/var/spack/repos/builtin/packages/tophat/package.py
index ea08822ab76..cc6ed66a6f4 100644
--- a/var/spack/repos/builtin/packages/tophat/package.py
+++ b/var/spack/repos/builtin/packages/tophat/package.py
@@ -29,5 +29,8 @@ class Tophat(AutotoolsPackage):
 
     parallel = False
 
+    def setup_build_environment(self, env):
+        env.append_flags("CFLAGS", self.compiler.cxx98_flag)
+
     def configure_args(self):
         return ["--with-boost={0}".format(self.spec['boost'].prefix)]