Trine men’s basketball among champions celebrated at White House

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Already celebrated nationally for their NCAA Division III championship, the Trine University men’s basketball team made a trip to the White House on Monday, July 22.

The Thunder were one of more than 40 championship teams representing all NCAA divisions hosted at the second annual White House College Champions Day.

Dr. Rick L. James, chair of Trine’s Board of Trustees, flew the team to Washington D.C. and back on his private jets.

“To be recognized at the White House for all our hard work is very humbling,” said Trine University Coach Brooks Miller. “It was a great experience and an honor to represent Trine University on such a grand stage. We are very thankful to our administration as well as to Rick and Vicki James for making this possible.”

Teams participated in a self-guided tour of the White House, concluding on the South Lawn. One representative from each team was on stage as Vice President Kamala Harris, Jordynn Dudley, a member of the national championship Florida State University women’s soccer team, and Lynda Tealer, NCAA senior vice president of championships, addressed the championship teams.

 

“This is an incredible backdrop to celebrate incredible achievements,” Tealer said in opening remarks. Congratulating the teams on their success, she said, “You’re the best in your sport. You’ve crossed that finish line. You’ll forever be NCAA champions.”

“In America, tens of millions of people play a sport as a child, and the best of the best grow up to become national champions,” said Harris, filling in for President Joe Biden, who was recovering from a COVID-19 infection. “I know it was not easy to make it to this moment. Each of you has faced challenges and obstacles, and you have endured, you have fought back and fought through. By doing so, you demonstrated that true greatness requires more than skill. It requires grit and determination.”

“When you play, you inspire people across our nation. You remind all of us what can be achieved with hard work and ambition.”

Dudley closed the podium remarks by again congratulating the athletes and coaches in attendance, saying, “You achieved the dream of many.”

Emmanuel Megnanglo, a native of Benin who represented Trine men’s basketball on the stage, expressed gratitude to the university for the opportunities it has given him.

“Never would I have imagined that not only would I be a national champion in the United States, but that I would be walking in the White House, and meeting someone as important to this country as the Vice President,” he said. “Something that was the dream of a child so many years ago, became a reality that will forever be marked in history.”

Every national champion from the past academic year was invited to College Champions Day. Though the White House frequently hosts championship teams, the 2023 College Champions Day was the first time it hosted NCAA national champions from all three divisions.