EAST LANSING, Mich. -- A Michigan State trustee is wondering how two of his bowl-game rings ended up for sale on an Internet auction site.
"I'm not going broke where I need to sell my rings," trustee Joel Ferguson, who owns television station WLAJ and Lansing-based F&S Development Company, told The State News. "I'll raise the rent on my tenants first."
The rings from the 1990 John Hancock and 1993 Liberty bowls are listed on eBay for $1,400 each.
University officials, such as trustees, usually receive rings when Michigan State competes in a bowl game. Bowl-game profits pay for the rings and are given free of charge, university officials said.
Ferguson's attorney, Patrick Reid, said he's working with eBay's fraud department to have the rings removed from the site.
Ferguson, who heard the rings were on eBay Tuesday, said he doesn't remember the specifics about when the rings left his possession, but he says he might have given them away. He doesn't believe they were stolen.
Lansing-based jeweler Angelo DiMeo said he put them up for auction on eBay on a whim.
DiMeo, who owns two jewelry stores, didn't want to comment on how the rings came into his possession, but said they're legitimate.
The auctions close Jan. 22.
As of Wednesday morning, no one had made a bid on either ring.
Originally published Wednesday, January 15, 2003
