COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio State Buckeyes were honored at the White House on Monday for winning the College Football Playoff National Championship earlier this year.
President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance joined head coach Ryan Day and dozens of players to recognize Ohio State’s championship.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel were also in attendance at the White House event.
Trump said the team showed the world that the road to greatness is paved by hard work, sweat and often a great deal of adversity.
“Today I’m honored to call the Ohio State University Buckeyes national champions,” Trump said during the ceremony. “You’re the national champions, and you’re standing right here at the White House. And it’s a proud day for all of us, but it’s a proud day for the Scarlet and Gray.”
Flanked by dozens of players behind him, the president quipped that Jan. 20 was a big day for all of them. It was the date of the championship game as well as Trump’s Presidential Inauguration.
Ohio State head coach Ryan Day paid tribute to his players after Trump’s remarks.
“This team made history by winning the most difficult series of games in the history of college football,” Day said.
The team’s captains presented the president with a helmet signed by the members of the 2024 team and a jersey adorned with the number 47 and Trump’s name.
Vance ended the team’s visit to the White House by nearly fumbling the national championship trophy.
After a formal ceremony, Vance tried to lift the trophy up along with its black base. As he lifted both of them off the table, the base fell away.
The trophy was grabbed by running back TreVeyon Henderson and linebacker Cody Simon, who were standing behind the vice president, while Vance bent over to pick up the base.
An audible gasp could be heard from the crowd as the Marine Corps Band continued to play “We Are the Champions” at the end of the ceremony. Fortunately, the trophy was unharmed.
As pictures and videos of Vance’s fumble rocketed across the internet, the vice president tried to explain away the gaffe with self-deprecation: “I didn’t want anyone after Ohio State to get the trophy so I decided to break it,” he wrote on X.
