Florida State offers reward for return of trophies

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Florida State's two national championship trophies were stolen over the weekend, and the school is offering a reward for their return.

The Waterford crystal football trophies, awarded for winning the final coaches poll in 1993 and 1999, were taken from their locked wooden-and-glass case outside coach Bobby Bowden's offices. Bowden was out of town Thursday and unavailable for comment.

The school is offering a $2,500 reward for information that would lead to the arrest and conviction of whomever took the trophies, campus police Maj. Tom Longo said. He would not otherwise comment on the school's investigation that started Sunday, after authorities learned of the theft.

The 1993 team, led by Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Charlie Ward, beat Nebraska in the Orange Bowl on a last-minute field goal by Scott Bentley. The 1999 team went 12-0 behind the school's second Heisman winner, quarterback Chris Weinke, defeating Virginia Tech and star quarterback Michael Vick in the Sugar Bowl.

"I was sick to my stomach when I heard it -- just mad," assistant athletic director Rob Wilson said about the theft. "Woe be unto that guy if the wrong people get hold of him."

Wilson said the school's booster group would probably raise the money to replace the two crystal pieces if they're not found.

There are no surveillance cameras in that area and the trophies were not insured, he said.

Construction workers are finishing an addition to a building that surrounds the football field, soon to be renamed after Bowden. The structure also houses the athletic department offices along with other departments and administrative offices.