[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.