Tue Sep 10 16:37:58 UTC 2024: ## Biden Honors 2024 NCAA Basketball Champions at White House
**WASHINGTON (AP)** – President Joe Biden welcomed the University of South Carolina Gamecocks women’s basketball team and the University of Connecticut Huskies men’s basketball team to the White House on Tuesday, celebrating their 2023-2024 NCAA championship seasons.
The Gamecocks, led by head coach Dawn Staley, went undefeated, finishing the season 38-0, marking their third championship since 2017. Biden praised the team for ushering in a new era of heightened interest in women’s sports, noting that their championship game against Iowa drew more viewers than the men’s championship this year.
Meanwhile, the Huskies, coached by Dan Hurley, secured their second consecutive title after a 37-3 season. Biden noted the team’s impressive success, with four first-round NBA draft picks and 11 athletes with UConn ties competing in the recent Paris Olympics.
Staley, a three-time Olympic gold medalist and coach of the U.S. women’s basketball team, recently served as a member of the presidential delegation to the Paris Olympics.
Biden jokingly warned South Carolina politicians that they better hope Staley keeps coaching, as she would be a formidable contender if she ever decided to pursue politics.
First Piper 