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Georgia football team declines White House visit with Joe Biden. Here's why.

The White House is set to host the Louisiana State University women’s basketball team and the University of Connecticut men’s basketball team, but one college national champion will not be in attendance.

The Georgia Bulldogs football team has declined an invitation to celebrate its College Football Playoff National Championship title with President Joe Biden in Washington D.C. due to scheduling conflicts.

“The University of Georgia first received on May 3 an invitation for the Bulldog football team to visit the White House on June 12. Unfortunately, the date suggested is not feasible given the student-athlete calendar and time of year," the Georgia athletics department said in a statement to the Athens Banner-Herald, part of the USA TODAY Network. "However, we are appreciative of the invitation and look forward to other opportunities for Georgia teams moving forward.”

Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Stetson Bennett (13) celebrates with a cigar and championship belt after defeating the TCU Horned Frogs in the CFP national championship game at SoFi Stadium.

MORE: LSU women's basketball team officially set to visit White House after invite controversy

Georgia defeated the TCU Horned Frogs 65-7 in January at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California to capture their second straight national championship.

The Bulldogs didn't visit the White House after their 2022 national title due to COVID-19 restrictions. The reigning champions will not make the trip to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue this time around because many students on the team won't be on campus on the proposed date. The team will return to campus in June for summer workouts.

It's a longstanding tradition for national champions across college and professional sports leagues to visit the sitting president at the White House. President Biden hosted the NBA champion Golden State Warriors in January.

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On Monday, LSU announced that it accepted an invitation to the White House on May 26 after dominating Iowa to win the school's first NCAA women's basketball championship. President Biden will host UConn, which beat San Diego State to win the school's fifth men's basketball championship, on the same day in a separate ceremony, the White House said in a statement on Monday.

LSU star forward Angel Reese celebrates after the Tigers beat Iowa for the NCAA women's basketball championship at the American Airlines Center in Dallas on April 2, 2023.

There was speculation whether LSU would visit President Biden. Following LSU's win over Iowa in April, First Lady Jill Biden suggested inviting both the Tigers and the Iowa Hawkeyes to the White House to applaud strides in women's sports before walking back her comments. Reese, the tournament most Outstanding Player, said she didn't accept Biden's explanation, adding that "if the roles were reversed, it wouldn't be the same."

Reese later said she would join her team at the White House after the team confirmed it would visit, despite feeling "hurt" by Biden's comments.

Contributing: Marc Weiszer, Athens Banner-Herald

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