Vice President Harris Hosts College Athlete Day at the White House Transcript

Good morning. Thank you all for being here today, but especially thank you all for being part of this great collegiate treasure that we call college sports. You know, there’s a very important seal here in the United States, it’s Latin, e pluribus unum, but what it means is out of many, one. That is exactly who you are and what you represent here today. You are the national champions in your sports, and you’re here today representing all those who played with you and against you time and time again, and then through the tournaments to land with… Does this…? Nope, nope. Did that work? Does that work?

Yeah.

How about that?

Yeah.

All right. The point is, you all made it to what we might call the top of the pile, but you represent half a million collegiate athletes who are part of this wonderful, beautiful thing called sports. And for me, this chance to be here today, and thank you to the Biden administration and to their team for making this possible, to take a minute on this lawn, in front of that building, which stands as well for out of many, one, is a very special moment. Most of all, I want to talk about the 90 championships across literally hundreds of sites that are hosted and celebrated every year by the NCAA and all of these organizations that you’re part of. Today’s the culmination of that. It’s a chance to say thank you to all of you for who you are, what you’ve done, and what you represent. But most of all, I want you to remember that you are out of many, one. And there are folks here today who will probably be your teammates later on, and there are folks here today who are your classmates. College sports is special.

(03:01)
Today is special. You are special, but again, you are part of a very important community to this country. The 520,000 athletes, 125,000 of which graduate every single year and go on to do great things, and all those schools and conferences that host all those events and those championship tournaments that ultimately determine who’s here today. Congratulations to all of you. I hope you enjoy your visit and most of all, I hope you continue to be the winners in life, in sports and school that you stand for and represent today. Thank you. I now have an opportunity to welcome several additional people who are very important to this, to the stage. I’d Like to welcome Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris, the Second Gentleman of the United States, Doug Emhoff, and Logan Eggleston, the captain and one of the seniors who played for the National Championship University of Texas, Longhorn Women’s Volleyball Team.

Hello everyone. Hello, it is good to be with everyone today and I want to thank Governor Baker for your introduction, but most importantly for your leadership. You have served in so many capacities out of love of our country, and I want to thank you for what you’ve been doing here. It is great as always to work with you. Thank you also to President Biden, our nation’s champion, for your leadership and dedication to America’s young leaders. Thank you to my husband, the Second Gentleman of the United States, to the members of Congress who are here, and of course all of the state and local leaders. And above all, congratulations to the over 1,000 student athletes here for this first of its kind event at the White House. Welcome. Welcome. We have 47 teams representing 19 sports and all three NCAA divisions. Indeed. You are from all over our great country and you are national champions. In America, tens of millions of children start playing a sport as a child. Only the best of the best, become a national champion, and that is you all. I know it wasn’t easy.

(06:39)
You made tremendous sacrifices. Training through injuries, birthdays, vacations, and even a pandemic. You know, all of you, what it means to commit and to persevere. And we know that so often during the course of a long season, sports teams also become a family. You develop lifelong relationships. You demonstrate teamwork and character. You make the people around you better in every way. You are leaders. You are role models, and of course you are champions. And college sports in particular have a special way, a very special way, of bringing people together, connecting us to our home states and our colleges, connecting us to family traditions, friends and fellow fans, connecting us to something bigger. When you take the court, you inspire so many across our country, people you may never meet. Not only because of how you play, but because of who each of you is. Every day you remind all of us of what we can achieve when we work hard and strive with ambition. Some of you may end up playing professionally.

(08:32)
Some of you may end up representing our country in the Olympics, in world championships and in World Cups, but all of you represent the best of our country and our communities no matter what you do next. That is why President Biden and I are so optimistic about the future of our country and our world, because of you, because of each of you. You remind us that we are truly stronger together, that our nation is strong when we stand together, understanding what we have in common. You are the ones that people who come from every corner of our nation, representing every background look at, because we know when we see you, we are at our best when we work together as one team. So again, congratulations to you all and to all of the people here who made your journey possible, to your family who supported you, to your coaches who taught and trained you, and to your friends who always have your back. Thank you all.

(10:03)
Now it is my honor to turn things over to one of our incredible student athletes, Logan. Logan, you are a star on the court, Division One National Volleyball Player of the Year. You are a star in the classroom as an academic all-American. You are a leader on issues like racial justice and you are a community leader, and now you are a national champion with your Texas Longhorn teammates. We are so proud of you. Thank you, Logan.

Thank you. Amazing. Awesome, the dramatics of the rain’s perfect timing. Hello everybody. My name is Logan Eggleston and I am a member of the 2022 National Championship Volleyball Team from the University of Texas at Austin, Hook ‘Em. Beautiful. It’s such an honor to be here today with all of you amazing athletes in recognition of the accomplishments that we had this year. This season was one like no other. We as a team built our culture around an African term that means, I am because we are. Every day, we emphasize the importance of the people around us as our main motivators. We knew that we could not accomplish our goals alone and could only exceed when we put our trust in each other. I want to thank President Biden, First Lady Jill Biden and Vice President Harris, for their investment in supporting women in sports. The progress we have seen has been significant and makes me so proud for what the future holds. It is truly so amazing to see so many female athletes supported and recognized here today.

(11:43)
Yes. I am so, so proud to be here today with all of you. This is what I love about sports. It can bring people together from all backgrounds and identities. In athletics, those things don’t matter. Rather, athletics unites us, people with so many differences, who want to accomplish a common goal. The diversity we see here today reflects American society and the qualities that we have portrayed as student athletes this year are important values that we as a country must continue to exhibit every single day, such as commitment, communication, trust, and acceptance. Athletes are leaders and let’s continue to pave the way for a better future. Good people love people, so let’s exhibit that every single day. I am so proud of everyone here today. Winning is not easy, which we all know. I applaud all of you for the sacrifices and hard work that you put into this year.

(12:36)
I, again, want to give a huge thank you to Vice President Harris for joining us and inviting us here today to celebrate each other and to build community. I’m honored to now present the National Championship Trophy to Vice President Harris. Hook ‘Em.