[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2005, Book II)]
[July 12, 2005]
[Pages 1212-1213]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]
Remarks Honoring NCAA Championship Teams
July 12, 2005
Thank you all. Please be seated. Not you.* Welcome to the South Lawn
of the White House for championship day. Today we have the largest group
of NCAA champs ever gathered at the White House, and we want to thank
you all for coming. I am honored to be joined on stage by the captains
of the 15 teams that we're honoring today. Thank you all for being here.
Congratulations for being such strong leaders.
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*The President's remarks were directed to team captains.
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I appreciate the Members of Congress who have come today. Welcome.
We're proud you're here. I want to thank the coaches and athletic
directors who are here today. But most of all, I want to congratulate
the men and women who have conducted themselves in the field of play in
such a manner that they're called champions. Welcome.
UCLA has won more NCAA championships than any school in the Nation,
so it's fitting that three of the champs here today wear the uniform of
the Bruins. Back in December, the UCLA men's water polo team won the
national championship with an overtime victory against Stanford.
Congratulations, and welcome. This spring the UCLA women's water polo
team beat Stanford to win the national championship. Welcome to the UCLA
women's polo team. And finally, the UCLA men's team won the national
championship. I had an honor to meet all three teams. I'm glad you're
here. Thanks for coming. Congratulations on a job well done.
And then we have the Georgia Bulldogs, who are well represented
today. [Applause] It's the South Lawn. Behave yourselves. [Laughter] The
Georgia men's golf team posted a wire-to-wire victory at the NCAA
champions. In the final round, interestingly enough, all five of
Georgia's golfers shot the same score, even par. That's called
consistency. The Georgia women's swimming and diving team brought home
their fourth NCAA championship. Interestingly enough, the Lady Bulldogs
won all five of the relay races. And finally, the Georgia women's
gymnastics team is with us today. They started the championship meet
seeded number 12 and came out number 1. Congratulations to the teams
from Georgia.
Two of the teams here made history by winning their schools' first
national championships in their respective sports. The Northwestern's
women's lacrosse team posted an undefeated season. Twenty-one straight
victories got them here to the White House. Congratulations to you all.
And then the Michigan women's softball team is here today. One of
the women asked me if I wanted to hit against her. I said, ``I don't
think so.'' [Laughter] This will interest you. The first 33 games that
the Michigan women's softball team played were on the road. It turns out
it's a little chilly in Michigan about softball time. They won 32 of the
33. It was an auspicious beginning to a championship season. Welcome to
the Michigan women's team.
Two of the teams here are celebrating a championship for the second
year in a row. The Stanford women's tennis team finished with an
undefeated season and a repeat national championship. They beat the
Texas Longhorns in the finals.
The Minnesota women's hockey team--the Gophers beat Harvard last
year to come to the White House; they beat Harvard this year to come to
the White House. Congratulations to the mighty Gophers of Minnesota.
The Auburn men's swimming and diving team is celebrating a three-
peat. Congratulations. Glad you all are here. Thanks for the Speedo.
[Laughter] I'm not going to
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wear it--[laughter]--in public that is. [Laughter]
The Duke women's golf team is here to celebrate the national
championship in--they were in 2002. They're back. Coach Brooks of the Duke women's golf team has now won three national
championships with the Blue Devils. That ties him with Coach
K. Therefore, he shall be known as Coach B--
not bad. [Laughter]
The Johns Hopkins men's lacrosse team is with us today. And
Congressman Elijah Cummings is here to
honor them. Johns Hopkins compiled a perfect record and pulled out a 9-8
victory to win the first championship they've had in almost two decades.
Congratulations to Johns Hopkins.
The Pepperdine men's volleyball team is with us today. They brought
the championship trophy back to Malibu in the first time in more than a
decade. I want to thank them for the gift, Surfboard One. [Laughter]
And finally, we honor the Oklahoma men's gymnastics team. It's the
third national championship they've won in the past 4 years.
It's such an honor to have you all here. I want to thank you for
being champs on the field. I want to thank you for being champs off the
field. I know you know this, but there's a lot of boys and girls who
watch you all to determine what it means to be a champ. You probably
don't realize it, but when you're in the field of play, there's a lot of
kids wondering what it takes.
And therefore, when you serve your community, you're teaching a kid
to read, or when you take the extra time to set a good example, you
really are affecting people's lives. See, you have a responsibility as a
champ, not only to win contests for your respective schools and set
personal goals and achieve them, but I think you have a responsibility
as a champ to set a good example. And I've read about the mentoring
programs and the hospital work and all the good works that you have
done, and I want to thank you for setting such a good example.
Again, welcome to the White House. If you're a junior or a
sophomore, work hard and come back. I'll be here to greet you. In the
meantime, may God bless you all and your families. Thanks for coming.
Note: The President spoke at 10:48 a.m. on the South Lawn at the White
House. In his remarks, he referred to Dan Brooks, head women's golf
coach, and Mike Krzyzewski, head men's basketball coach, Duke
University.