President Donald Trump (C), alongside coach Todd Golden (L), welcomes the 2025 NCAA men’s college basketball champions, the University of Florida Gators, to the White House in Washington on Wednesday. Attorney General Pam Bondi R) , who received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida, looks on. Pool Photo by Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA-EFE
WASHINGTON, May 21 (UPI) — President Donald Trump welcomed the University of Florida’s men’s basketball team to the White House on Wednesday afternoon to celebrate its 2025 NCAA championship season, praising the Gators’ teamwork, grit and determination.
Standing alongside head coach Todd Golden, Trump called Florida’s run “one for the history books” and noted the program’s place in history as the only NCAA Division I school to win three national titles in both basketball (2006, 2007, 2025) and football (1996, 2006, 2008).
The Gators finished a dominant 36-4 season with a 65-63 victory over Houston in what Trump described as “one of the most exciting games and championships” he had seen.
“You refused to let up when the odds were against you,” Trump told the team. “Lesser teams would have crumbled.”
Trump highlighted stellar performances throughout the season, including that by senior guard Walter Clayton Jr., who scored a career-high 34 points in the Final Four against Auburn and became the first player since Larry Bird in 1979 to score 30 points or more in both the Elite Eight and Final Four.
“He’s unbelievably special,” Trump said. “He’s going to be a very early draft pick if they’re smart.”
University of Florida Interim President Kent Fuchs, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a former Florida senator, and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, who served at Florida attorney general.
Golden thanked Trump for the invitation and drew a comparison between the team’s culture and the country’s ideals.
“Mr. President, I’d like to think of our program similarly to how you think of the United States. We’re a meritocracy,” Golden said. “We work really, really hard. No matter what you look like, where you come from, if you put the team first and win, we’re going to play you.”
He then presented the president with a signed Gators jersey featuring the number 47, referencing Trump’s status as the 47th president.
Trump accepted the gift and invited the team to the Oval Office for commemorative coins and photos alongside members of his administration and several lawmakers.
“Go Gators,” he said. “We love you.”