Georgia Bulldogs turn down White House trip

The Georgia Bulldogs, the reigning national champions of college football, have declined an invitation to visit the White House, citing a scheduling conflict. 

“The University of Georgia first received on May 3 an invitation for the Bulldog football team to visit the White House on June 12,” the University of Georgia (UGA) athletic association said in a statement Tuesday, noting that the June 12 date for the invitation “is not feasible given the student-athlete calendar and time of year.” 

The Bulldogs defeated the Texas Christian University Horned Frogs in a 65-7 rout in January to take home their second straight College Football Playoff National Championship Trophy. 

“Unfortunately, the date suggested is not feasible given the student-athlete calendar and time of year,” the statement adds. “However, we are appreciative of the invitation and look forward to other opportunities for Georgia teams moving forward.”

According to The Associated Press, the initial event was described by President Biden and first lady Jill Biden as “College Athlete Day.”

The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment on the matter. 

For the third straight year, a college football national champion won’t be attending the White House for an annual visit, CNN reported. The Bulldogs and its Southeastern Conference rival, the Alabama Crimson Tide, didn’t visit the White House the last two years due to COVID-19 related reasons. 

The news comes as the White House announced earlier this week that it will welcome both the Louisiana State University (LSU) Tigers women’s basketball team and the University of Connecticut Huskies men’s basketball team May 26 to celebrate their recent championship victories.

LSU’s invitation comes a month after the team’s star player, forward Angel Reese, criticized the first lady for her initial suggestion that both LSU and the runner-ups, the University of Iowa Hawkeyes, should come to the White House. The White House initially walked back Biden’s suggestion.