D-III champions get their day at the White House

Posted: Jun 12, 2023
The Carnegie Mellon men's golf, Emory men's swimming and diving, and University of Chicago men's soccer team all were among the close to 20 Division III sports teams in attendance at College Athlete Day at the White House.
Photo by Kim Kelly for the University Athletic Association
 

Each year there are 28 Division III teams crowned, give or take a pandemic, and usually they are not among the chosen few invited to the White House to celebrate their accomplishments. That changed this year, however, when the White House announced College Athlete Day, bringing in student-athletes from across the country and across the NCAA.

"Congratulations to the over 1,000 student athletes here for this first-of-its-kind event at the White House," said Vice President Kamala Harris, who stepped in as President Joe Biden was out getting a root canal. She also noted that 47 teams were present, representing 19 sports and all three NCAA divisions.

"Truly an honor to be a part of something so special," said UW-La Crosse track student-athlete JT Zell, who along with Emma Lawrence, represented UWL on the stage at Monday's ceremony.  "These opportunities are once in a lifetime. We are super thankful to everyone involved for making it happen." 

"We were all very grateful for the opportunity to represent our university in a meeting of so many great champions," Griffin Wada said. Wada plays men's soccer for the Universiy of Chicago. "I think we all understand that very few people get invited to the White House, and to get that invitation based upon our play on the field makes it that much sweeter. It was awesome to have Vice President Harris speak to us, and hopefully this soccer program will have many more chances to visit over the coming years."

"It's an honor to be invited to the White House," Stevens men's volleyball head coach Dan Buehring said. "The team was excited to visit Washington D.C., hear the (vice) president's remarks, and reflect on their achievements this year. We are happy to also have the opportunity to be together again as a team during this special trip and honor."

Of those 47, 19 were Division III champions. These are the teams we were able to confirm were in attendance as of the time of publication. A full list was not included in White House documentation on the event.

Carnegie Mellon men's golf
Case Western Reserve men's tennis
Chicago men's soccer
Christopher Newport men's basketball
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women's tennis
Denison women's swimming
Emory men's swimming
Hobart ice hockey (men's)
Johns Hopkins women's cross country
Johns Hopkins women's soccer
MIT men's cross country
MIT men's track and field
North Central football
Salisbury men's lacrosse
Stevens men's volleyball
Transylvania women's basketball
UW-La Crosse men's indoor track
UW-La Crosse women's track and field
Wellesley rowing