DENVER - The three-time defending NCAA Champion University of Denver ski team visited the White House for NCAA Champions Day on Monday, September 13.
"Winning the NCAA Championship and having the President invite the team to the White House is an honor that everybody on this team will always remember," Nordic head coach Dave Stewart said. "It is a true honor to be recognized by the President for the team's accomplishments and to represent the University of Denver at our nation's capital."
President Obama welcomed to the White House more than 650 student athletes and 150 coaches and staff members, from 32 schools across the nation. Gathering on the South Lawn, the President offered his congratulations on their 2009-10 Division I NCAA Championships. Teams from various sports lined up to participate in this tradition, which was started by the previous administration.
In addition to congratulating them on their athletic achievements, President Obama acknowledged the athletes' scholastic accomplishments, underscoring their ability to make the grades, as well as the goals, and lend credence to the term "student-athlete." The President also acknowledged the teams' incredible work to organize blood drives, cook for families of sick children, and build houses for the homeless. One young man even donated bone marrow to a little girl he had never met. As he said, "Saving someone's life is a lot more important than a football game."
As role models and volunteers, these athletes contribute in countless ways to the world around them. And that makes them, as the President pointed out, truly champions.
The Pioneers captured their third-straight national title at the 2010 NCAA Championships, their 21st overall and their seventh since 2000. The Pioneers also visited the White House in 2008 at the invitation of President George W. Bush.
Led by four-time NCAA individual champion Antje Maempel (Stützerbach, Germany) and NCAA men's giant slalom champion Leif Kristian Haugen (Lommendalen, Norway), the Pioneers claimed their third-straight and 21st overall NCAA championship this year in Steamboat Springs, Colo.
All six alpine skiers earned All-American honors on the first of the four-day championship, including sophomore Lindsay Cone (Killington, Vt.), who came in second in both women's alpine races, to give the Pioneers a lead that proved insurmountable. Overall, Denver claimed 13 All-American honors.
Denver's 21 team championships in skiing are the most in NCAA history, ahead of Colorado's 16 and Utah's 10. Those 21 titles also rank DU skiing in a tie for fourth among the most NCAA championships by any team in any sport. Only Oklahoma State wrestling (34), USC outdoor track (26) and Iowa wrestling (22) have won more championships.
Denver's ski team is the only one in the NCAA with multiple national titles since 2000, and DU has captured seven (2000, '01, '02, '05, '08 and '09). Utah (2003), New Mexico (2004), Colorado (2006) and Dartmouth (2007) won the other national titles.
With high academic standards and solid athletics, including the ski team's 100 percent graduation rate and a grade point average over 3.5, the University of Denver has established itself as the premier University in the Front Range. Combined with DU hockey's seven national titles, the Pioneers have 28 team national championships, the eighth most in NCAA history behind Southern California (76), UCLA (71), Stanford (60), Oklahoma State (48), Arkansas (43), Michigan (31), and Penn State (30).
Some of the schools and teams invited to attend the September 13 event include:
Augusta State University Men's Golf
Boston College Men's Ice Hockey
Duke University Men's Lacrosse
Fairleigh Dickinson University Women's Bowling
Oklahoma State University Men's Cross Country
Pennsylvania State University Women's Volleyball
Pennsylvania State University Men's & Women's Fencing
Purdue University Women's Golf
Stanford University Men's Volleyball
Stanford University Women's Tennis
Texas A&M University, College Station Men's and Women's Outdoor Track and Field
Texas Christian University Men's & Women's Rifle
University of California, Los Angeles Softball
University of California Los Angeles Women's Gymnastics
University of Denver Men's & Women's Skiing
University of Florida Men's Indoor Track and Field
University of Florida Women's Swimming and Diving
University of Iowa Wrestling
University of Maryland, College Park Women's Lacrosse
University of Michigan Men's Gymnastics
University of Minnesota Duluth Women's Ice Hockey
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Field Hockey
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Women's Soccer
University of Oregon Women's Indoor Track and Field
University of South Carolina Baseball
University of Southern California Men's Tennis
University of Southern California Men's Water Polo
University of Southern California Women's Water Polo
University of Texas at Austin Men's Swimming and Diving
University of Virginia Men's Soccer
University of Virginia Women's Rowing
Villanova University Women's Cross Country
Villanova University Football
