    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2008, Book II)]
    [November 12, 2008]
    [Pages 1358-1360]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Honoring 2008 NCAA Championship Teams
    November 12, 2008

        Thank you all. Please be seated. Welcome to the White House,
    champions day here on the South Lawn. We appreciate you coming. We
    appreciate the fact that as champions you have set goals and you have
    worked hard to achieve those goals.
        I appreciate very much the fact that you brought your coaches with
    you and people at your universities who support you. I'm proud to
    welcome the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, his wife Molly, and daughter
    Ella. He is here because he is a graduate of
    Northwestern University. Of course, you're probably here to cheer all
    the teams, right? Yes.
        I want to welcome other members of the administration, school
    officials, families, and fans. First team I want to honor is the team
    for which we have called upon this weather: the University of Alaska
    Fairbanks rifle team. [Laughter] The Nanooks are with us today. You won
    your 10th national championship and your third in a row. I want to
    welcome coach Dan Jordan and the folks from
    Fairbanks--University of Alaska Fairbanks. I asked the captain, ``Who
    did you beat to get here?'' And he said, ``Army.'' [Laughter] The folks
    at West Point need to practice. [Laughter] These guys make good
    competition to you. Congratulations. Welcome. And we are glad you're
    here.
         A lot of teams from the State of Arizona have joined us. We put
    this weather on just for you. [Laughter]
        The University of Arizona men's and women's swimming and diving
    teams are here. In March, the women defeated Auburn to win the national
    championship, and 1 week later, the men handily beat the

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    University of Texas. We welcome you here. This is the first national
    championship for either team. And I got the feeling, having talked to
    some of the athletes, this will not be the last time you'll be at the
    White House, even though it will be my last time here at the White
    House. [Laughter] Coach Frank Busch--no
    relation--and the mighty Arizona men and women's team, congratulations,
    and we welcome you.
        The Arizona State University men's and women's indoor track and
    field team have joined us today. [Applause] There you are. The Sun Devil
    men and women both took home indoor track and field championships. This
    was the first indoor title for the men and a repeat for the women. You
    have a great leader and coach, Greg Kraft, and
    we're glad to welcome you back. Congratulations, and thanks.
        Arizona State softball team are with us today. [Applause] Seems to
    be some support out there for women's softball. You're looking at a big
    women's softball supporter. You went 66-5, and 10-0 during the
    postseason to capture the Sun Devils' first NCAA softball national
    title. When Coach Clint Myers arrived 3 years
    ago, he promised that you would win a national title. That's a pretty
    bold promise, Coach Myers, and you've delivered. And you thanked him by
    dumping Gatorade all over him. [Laughter] I hope you sent them the
    cleaning bill.
        The Florida State men's outdoor track and field team have joined us
    today, the mighty Seminoles. This is your third-straight title. Coach
    Bob Braman told me that he--last year, he said,
    ``We'll be back, Mr. President.'' I said, ``I'll be here too.'' You're
    in the process of winning; you produced nine All-Americans.
    Congratulations on another great championship.
        The Northwestern University women's lacrosse team; they finished 21-
    1. I must tell you, I was slightly disappointed when I came in the White
    House room there and looked at the feet of those women. I was looking
    for flip-flops. [Laughter] Coach Kathy--Kelly Hiller led you to the fourth straight national title over
    Penn, and here is what she said: ``I'm not going to call ourselves a
    dynasty, but if you want to, I'm okay with it.'' [Laughter] Welcome
    back, a dynasty. Congratulations, ladies.
        LSU women's outdoor track and field team, straight out of Baton
    Rouge, Louisiana. [Laughter] It came down to the wire, the very last
    event of the very last day was the 4x400, and you won. And now you are
    the national champs. We welcome Coach Dennis Shaver and the women from Louisiana State University.
        I'm proud to welcome back Coach John Murphy's Brown University women's rowing team. This is the
    second-straight year that the women have been back; this is your sixth
    national championship in less than a decade. You are the most successful
    crew in NCAA women's rowing history. Congratulations, and welcome back
    to the White House.
        And finally, Fresno State men's baseball. So you talk about a team
    that refused to quit. This team lost 12 of the first 20 games of the
    season. I suspect some of you wrote you off, you know, like--
    [laughter]--8 and 12? These guys call themselves champs? You needed to
    win your conference tournament just to make the NCAA field of 64 teams.
    Six times in postseason you were only one game away from elimination.
    Every time you held on, and you became national champs. No wonder the
    ESPYs nominated you for the best upset of the year.
        I thank you for your willingness to never say die, your willingness
    to keep fighting. Steve Detwiler said this--
    he played with an injury by the way--he said: ``It's mind over matter.
    The pain is temporary, the pride is forever.'' And I suspect, Steve, a
    lot of athletes, whether they were on your team or on the teams
    represented here, can testify that pride is forever. This is a prideful
    moment for you.

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        We are glad you're here at the White House. I thank you for being
    good champions on the field. I thank you for being champs off the field.
    I'm proud you're here at this grand house of the people. May God bless
    you, and may God continue to bless the United States.

    Note: The President spoke at 1:30 p.m. on the South Lawn at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to Patrik Sartz, cocaptain,
    University of Alaska Fairbanks rifle team; and Steve Detwiler,
    outfielder, Fresno State men's baseball team.