The Baylor women’s basketball team announced on Wednesday, that it had accepted an invitation to celebrate its championship season at the White House.
The Baylor Bears becomes the first women’s team to receive its own invitation to the White House under President Donald Trump, according to USA Today.
On April 7, Baylor defeated Notre Dame 82-81 for the program’s third national title, which put the program in elite company with UConn and Tennessee as the only institutions to have three national championships in women’s basketball, the university noted in its announcement.
The Lady Bears last visited the White House in 2012 during Barack Obama’s presidency, but also visited during George W. Bush’s term in 2005.
Baylor coach Kim Mulkey has already said she does not see the visit as “a political thing.”
“I’ve been every time for every president,” Mulkey told the Associated Press on April 10. “It’s an honor to go to the White House. I want everyone to say they went to the White House. Not many people can say that.”
Neither of the past two WNBA champions, the Seattle Storm and Minnesota Lynx, received an invitation to visit the Trump White House. The past two NCAA women’s basketball champs also skipped visits arranged for groups of athletes.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.
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