More than 1,000 collegiate student-athletes from championship teams gathered at the White House South Lawn on Monday to be honored for the part they play as role models in society.
President Joe Biden was expected to be on hand for the ceremony but had to cancel for a unexpected root canal. Instead vice president Kamal Harris spoke.
"You inspire so many across our country, people you may never meet," Harris said. "You remind all of us of what we can achieve."
According to ESPN, the event included representatives of 47 teams from 19 different sports. The Georgia football team declined to attend the event because the date was "not feasible given the student-athlete calendar and the time of year."
The student-athletes in attendance were from both large and small colleges and universities, and from a wide cross-section of he college athletics space. ESPN reported that there was the women's bowling team from Vanderbilt, the men's ice hockey team from Hobart College, the Wellesley College rowing team, the men's gymnastics and women's water polo teams from Stanford, among others.
