AP Photo/Ashley Landis

Georgia Football Team Declines White House Visit After 2023 National Title

Timothy Rapp

The defending college football national champions won't be visiting President Joe Biden at the White House this year.

"The University of Georgia first received on May 3 an invitation for the Bulldog football team to visit the White House on June 12. Unfortunately, the date suggested is not feasible given the student-athlete calendar and time of year," the school said in a statement (h/t Seth Emerson of The Athletic). "However, we are appreciative of the invitation and look forward to other opportunities for Georgia teams moving forward."

A college football team hasn't visited the White House since LSU following the 2019 season, though the COVID-19 pandemic prevented Alabama from going after the 2020 season and was the reason cited for Georgia not making the trip after the 2021 campaign.

Both college basketball champions, the LSU women and UConn men, will visit President Biden on May 26.

During Donald Trump's four years as president, a number of teams abstained from visiting the White House over political differences, never received an invitation or couldn't agree upon a date. Just one of the 14 basketball champions at the NBA, WNBA and college level visited the White House during Trump's presidency—the 2019 Baylor Bears women's team.

It was unclear if this year's LSU women's team would visit the White House after First Lady Jill Biden suggested runner-up Iowa should also be invited after playing well in the national championship game.

Those comments didn't sit well with LSU star and the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player, Angel Reese.

But the White House later walked back the First Lady's comments, and LSU agreed to meet with the Bidens in Washington D.C.

But outside of that situation and Georgia skipping the trip this year, the White House visit for championship athletes has been far less of an ongoing story in the Biden administration than it was under Trump.

   

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