WASHINGTON–President Donald Trump hosted the Florida Gators men’s basketball team at the White House on Wednesday following their championship in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) tournament last month.
The Gators bested the Houston Cougars in the NCAA final 65-53, emerging as the champions from the 64-team tournament, known to basketball enthusiasts as the “Big Dance.”
.@POTUS welcomes the 2025 NCAA Men's Basketball champions to the White House — the University of Florida @GatorsMBK 🏆 pic.twitter.com/4p67ERsPvC
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 21, 2025
Trump said he was “delighted to welcome” the team to the White House during the celebration in the East Room.
“Congratulations also to a really great young head coach, Todd Golden, on the entire job he did, the season, the inspiration that he gave these players,” Trump said.
The president shared moments with several players who had key contributions in both the SEC tournament, where they won the conference championship, and in the national championship game with Houston.
One such moment came with Gators guard Alijah Martin, who helped seal victory for his team with two critical free throws in crunch time of the national championship game.
.@POTUS teases @GatorsMBK guard Alijah Martin — whose free throws near the end of the championship game put them in the lead for good.
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 21, 2025
"Ohhh, if you didn't sink 'em, you wouldn't be up here right now and nobody would ever call you again." 🤣🏆 pic.twitter.com/T1hh1YsX0X
“Were you nervous? I always say, ‘Here’s a guy, he’s got to sink the–it’s not that easy.’ I can name a couple of very big players that didn’t do too well in that circumstance,” Trump jested.
“No,” Martin responded matter-of-factly, with a smile.
“That’s pretty good,” Trump replied.
“Oh, if you didn’t sink ’em you wouldn’t be up here right now, and nobody would ever call you again,” he added, drawing a laugh from the guard and the room.
At the end of the ceremony, Golden presented Trump with a custom #47 Gators basketball jersey and a basketball autographed by the team.
University of Florida men's basketball Head Coach Todd Golden presents @POTUS with an autographed team basketball and a Donald Trump 47 jersey. 🐊 pic.twitter.com/UceC2kvrlg
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 21, 2025
In his remarks, the coach emphasized that the team is a “meritocracy” and equated it to Trump’s vision for America.
“Mr. President, I like to think of our program similarly to how you think of the United States. We’re a meritocracy. We work really, really hard.”
“No matter what you look like or where you come from, if you put the team first and win, we’re going to play you. And we have a program full of that; guys that have great attitudes, great work ethics, most importantly, want to be at the University of Florida,” he added.
