Monday, January 20, 2003

Ohio State hauls in trophies, rings



The Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Ohio State's football trophy case is a bit more cramped now that the team has won the national championship.

Ohio State got trophies from The Associated Press, the Bowl Championship Series, the National Football Foundation, the Football Writers Association of America and the ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll, which all symbolize national championship trophies.

There's also a Fiesta Bowl trophy, but Ohio State doesn't get to keep it.

That trophy, which was redone for this year, is 4-foot tall and 200 pounds. It has five kinds of marble, four shades of gold, silver and 2,400 diamonds. There's also a removable football made of solid 18-karat gold.

The diamonds form a white stripe on the football. There's also a diamond that adorns a switch. When the switch is flipped, a Fiesta Bowl sunburst logo on the ball lights up.

The trophy was showed off at Saturday's celebration at Ohio Stadium of the Buckeyes' 31-24 win over Miami. It will be kept in the Fiesta Bowl offices in Phoenix. Ohio State will get a full-size bronze replica, a university spokesman said.

Ohio State players and coaches, as well as some members of the staff and athletic administration, will receive a championship ring.

The design features a black football made of onyx with a gray No. 1 in the middle. The ring is made of platinum and white gold and has the word "National" above the football and "Champions" below it.

"I'll wear the big ring whenever I go on a job interview - or a date," Ohio State fullback Brandon Schnittker said. "And I'll take Sunday drives so I can put my hand up on the wheel and see (the ring)."