Reagan Hobbs is negotiating a deal to sell Bobby Bowden's former home to Seminole Boosters, Inc., a possible move that could keep one of Florida State football's most familiar properties in the Seminole family. Hobbs said Sunday that the talks are still underway and that he is “optimistic.”
The house changed hands at the Bobby Bowden Legacy Auction last spring, when Hobbs submitted a winning bid of $670,000 and paid $737,000 after the 10% buyer's premium. The auction, which concluded on March 18, drew nearly 1,925 registered bidders and more than 33,000 bids on 1,568 lots, a level of interest that matched the pull of a home long tied to Bobby Bowden and FSU.
The property itself helps explain why. Built in 1971, the 4,639-square-foot home has four bedrooms and 3½ bathrooms and sits on a 0.57-acre lot along the private, recently renovated Killearn Club golf course. Bowden often played golf there, and a life-sized bronze statue of him stands near the 16th tee box, making the house part residence and part shrine to a coach who shaped the program for 34 seasons.
The former coach and his wife, Ann Bowden, bought the home in January 1976 for $113,500. He lived there until his death in 2021 at age 91, after winning two national championships at FSU in 1993 and 1999 and finishing with 357 Division I wins, second all-time. Ann Bowden turns 94 on Monday, Sept. 7, and has moved to Alabama to live with family.
There is still no completed deal, and that is the part that matters now. The home could remain linked to the Seminole community, but only if the negotiations Hobbs described turn into a finalized transfer. Tommy Bowden said a partnership with Seminole Boosters “could be a resource for home games” and “might mean a lot to all those (fans) coming back,” a reminder that the house is not just about square footage or auction numbers. It is about whether a piece of FSU history stays that way.
