[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 40, Number 21 (Monday, May 24, 2004)]
[Pages 922-924]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks Honoring NCAA Winter Champion Teams

May 19, 2004

    The President. Thanks for coming.
    Audience member. We'll be back. [Laughter]
    The President. Whoever said, ``We'll be back,'' it sounds like the 
Connecticut women's basketball team.
    I'm glad you all are here. This is what we call Champions Day. It is 
my high honor to welcome champions to the White House. I appreciate--I 
notice we've got a lot of folks from Connecticut here. [Laughter] Yes. 
We've got two fine United States Senators in Chris Dodd and Joe 
Lieberman. We're proud you're here. Nancy Johnson is here with us today. 
Chris Shays--you made it. Very good. And Rob Simmons is with us as well. 
Yes, there you go. [Laughter]
    They're here because Connecticut--University of Connecticut has done 
something really unusual. They have a women's champion and a men's 
champion in the same year, and we're proud to welcome them here. Maybe 
now is the moment that I should admit that I was born in Connecticut. 
[Laughter]
    I want to thank Phil Austin for being here. Geno, welcome back. Geno 
is--he's obviously a great coach. And he is a fellow who--I've watched 
the games, and I've watched his attitude, and no wonder Connecticut 
women's basketball does so well, because he knows how to win. And I'm 
proud to have him back. This is the third year that the Connecticut 
ladies have been here since I've been the President.
    And Jim Calhoun is also a great coach and a fine man as well. Coach 
Calhoun looked at me and said, ``I wonder if you're a point guard.'' I 
said, ``I couldn't even touch the net.'' [Laughter] But he's got some 
people that can touch the net on his team. And both these champs really 
worked hard to get here--both these teams worked hard to get here, with 
great coaches. And I'm proud to welcome them here to the White House.
    University of Denver--one of your--well, you've got a couple of 
alumni who work for me. One is Gale Norton, who is the Secretary of the 
Interior. Welcome, Gale. I'm glad you're here. The other one is Condi 
Rice, and I told her to keep working. [Laughter] No rest for the weary. 
[Laughter]
    I appreciate Marc Holtzman and George Gwozdecky, who is the head 
coach, for joining us as well. We've got Wayne Allard, who is the United 
States Senator from Colorado, with us. Scott McInnis and Diana DeGette 
is with us as well. Diana, thanks for coming. We're glad you all are 
here, proud the good folks from Colorado are here.
    Laura Halldorson is the coach of the University of Minnesota women's 
hockey team. I welcome the team here. I also welcome Senators Norm 
Coleman and Mark Dayton. Where is Senator Dayton--he was a fine goalie, 
by the way.
    Audience member. Long ago.
    The President. Yes, long ago. [Laughter]
    Martin Sabo, the Congressman, is with us. Martin, thank you for 
coming. We're proud we've got so many here. I was pleased to know that 
the University of Minnesota women's hockey team's slogan this year was, 
``Get it done, and meet George.'' [Laughter] It's my pleasure to meet 
you. [Laughter] You beat Harvard, and you became the first women's team 
in school history to win a national championship, and that's got to make 
you feel great. Congratulations.
    I had met one of your players before. I warned her I was going to 
say this, but Krissy

[[Page 923]]

Wendell, who plays for the Minnesota team, and I met at the Winter 
Olympics. It was there that she handed me a cell phone so I could speak 
to her mother. [Laughter] I worked hard to convince her mother it was 
actually the President speaking to her. [Laughter] I tried as hard as I 
could to sound exactly like myself. [Laughter] I will never, however, 
forget what her mother said. She said, ``I just want you to know, I'm 
praying for you.'' And I told Krissy, when she talked to her mother, 
tell her how--that was--it meant a lot, and tell her mom, thanks.

    I also am really glad that the women's team is here. I'm sorry that 
Diana is not here. She's making a living. [Laughter] It's part of the 
economic recovery package. [Laughter] She goes to college, and she gets 
a really good job with the WNBA Phoenix Mercury.

    But these women know how to play basketball, and they're tough 
competitors. I think a lot of people probably wrote Geno's team out 
pretty early in the year. It seemed like the field was really a 
competitive field this year, and a lot of people probably said, ``Well, 
they don't have it. They're kind of burned out. Maybe don't have what it 
takes.'' And in fact, these women show they do have what it takes. 
They've got great courage, great desire, and I'm really happy you're 
back.

    And I'm really happy the men's team is here as well. It's--the NCAA 
Final Four is some kind of exciting for a lot of sports fans. And the 
Duke game was really an exciting game, and I know the people of 
Connecticut were--Connecticut fans were incredibly thrilled that Calhoun 
and his men are here today. And I am too--glad you're here.

    And then there's the University of Denver hockey team--the men's 
hockey team. They won their first national championship in 35 years. 
This team wasn't expected to win either. It just goes to show you, don't 
write people out, particularly those who have got desire and character. 
You just don't write them off. You just--you never kind of take anything 
for granted.

    I like the story of Lukas Dora. Where are you, Lukas? There you go. 
Lukas is from the Czech Republic. He said--they tell me he talks a lot 
on the ice. He's a talkative guy, but he uses unique English to confuse 
the opponents. [Laughter] Kind of sounds like the strategy I use at the 
press conferences. [Laughter]

    They're champs on the court. They're champs on the ice. They've got 
to be champs off the court and ice too, to be true champs. You've got an 
opportunity now, with the spotlight on you as champions, to make a 
difference in the communities in which you live. Here's a chance--a 
chance to be more than just an athlete. It's a chance to be a hero to 
somebody who needs a role model, somebody who--like when you go to visit 
the children in the hospital--and I know you do--somebody, when you 
touch their life--you go in as a champ, and you touch a life, and 
somebody feels better as a result of a little love and compassion, or 
serving food, or helping with toy drives. All of it matters, see. All of 
it counts.

    And now that you've got the spotlight on you, I hope you continue to 
seize that moment and make America a better place, by changing a heart 
and a soul, one person at a time. See, true champs are those that show 
courage and work hard to win, but they're also people who show 
compassion and love and decency when given the chance.

    We're welcoming true champs here to the White House, and it's my 
high honor to do so. Congratulations for what you have done. May God 
continue to bless you all, your schools, and your families. Welcome.

Note: The President spoke at 4 p.m. in the East Room at the White House. 
In his remarks, he referred to Phil Austin, president, Geno Auriemma, 
women's basketball head coach, Diana Taurasi, former player, and Jim 
Calhoun, men's basketball head coach, University of Connecticut; Marc 
Holtzman, president, and George Gwozdecky, men's hockey head coach, 
University of Denver. The President honored the University of 
Connecticut men's and women's basketball teams, the University of Denver 
men's hockey team, and the University of Minnesota women's hockey team.

[[Page 924]]