Second IU championship ring from '76 season up for auction

INDIANAPOLIS -- A ring commemorating IU's 1976 NCAA basketball championship was offered for auction on eBay on Monday, a day after bidding on a similar ring ended at $50,100 without meeting the seller's minimum price.\nThe bidding for the second ring, which the unidentified seller said had belonged to a player on the last unbeaten NCAA championship team, began at $32,019.76 and will end Sunday.\n"Best news of all, there is no reserve on it. So if you place a bid and you're the high bidder, you will win this fantastic ring," the seller said on the eBay posting.\nIn an e-mail exchange with The Associated Press, the seller said he acquired the IU ring secondhand, not directly from the player, and that he has bought and sold other rings.\n"I don't do this for a living; it's just a serious hobby," he said. "I am sure I will get a ton of e-mails saying they can't believe that someone from the 1976 team would ever sell their ring. It does happen for whatever reason."\nNo bids had been submitted as of Monday afternoon.\nThere were 112 bids on the first ring, which the seller said had belonged to the late Harold Andreas, an assistant coach on IU's 1976 title team.\nThe reserve price for that ring was not disclosed. The AP sent an e-mail message to the seller asking whether it would be sold for the top bid or offered for auction again.