Ohio State’s national championship celebration went to Washington, D.C. on Monday.
The 2024 Ohio State football team was honored by President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and the White House on Monday for bringing home the first national title for the Buckeyes since the 2014 season.
Trump, Vance and Ryan Day all spoke at the ceremony on the White House grounds to honor Ohio State's accomplishment. In his speech, Day emphasized how proud he was of his team for delivering the greatest run in college football history with the expanded 12-team playoff.
"Mr. President, Mr. Vice President and other distinguished guests, on behalf of The Ohio State University and the department of athletics, thank you for inviting the national championship Ohio State Buckeyes to the White House this afternoon," Day said. "We are honored and humbled to be here celebrating with you our ninth national championship in our great university's history. To be here surrounded by our players, staff and university leadership is a moment we'll never forget. Traveling to D.C. was the easy part. Earning the right to be here was the hard one. This team made history by winning the most difficult series of games in the history of college football, defeating No. 7 Tennessee, No. 1 Oregon in the Rose Bowl, No. 3 Texas in the Cotton Bowl and No. 5 Notre Dame in the national championship back-to-back-to-back-to-back. No team has ever done that. Through discipline and execution, this team dominated, finished the mission and left no doubt.
“It all started with a group of fourth and fifth-year seniors. They chose each other. They chose Ohio State. They built and lived a culture of toughness, brotherhood and love. When adversity hit, they stood tall, stuck together, showed their true character, rose to the occasion and became champions.
“There’s a quote I love from President (Teddy) Roosevelt displayed proudly in our team room, ‘The Man in the Arena.’ It’s not the critic who counts, it’s not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, the credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, who strives valiantly, comes up short again and again but who does actually strive to do the deeds. This quote reminds us of the true honor that goes to those who rise to the challenge and stand in the arena unwavered. It took every challenge and we responded with heart, with grit and with determination. That is why this moment means so much to us. Our families, thank you so much for your love and your support along the way. To our coaches, thank you for your hard work and for your leadership. And to our players, thank you for everything, your story will forever be told. And Mr. President, thank you again for this incredible honor. God bless America and go Bucks.”
Trump gave numerous Ohio State players credit throughout his speech, including Will Howard, Cody Simon, TreVeyon Henderson, Emeka Egbuka, the entire offensive line, Jack Sawyer and Jeremiah Smith. He expanded upon a conversation he and Day had backstage when discussing the Buckeyes' star wide receiver
“I shouldn’t say this, but Coach was giving Jeremiah some major praise backstage," Trump said. "I said, ‘So, what’s the future?’ He said, ‘Well, we have a guy, he may be the best ever.’ That’s a lot to think about.”
Trump also heaped praise on Ohio State's head coach.
“To Coach Ryan Day, and I have to read this… they gave me a little briefing. I knew he was a good coach, (but) I didn’t know he was that good. It’s Ryan Day, head coach at The Ohio State University – this is a little summary – Ryan was named head coach in December 2018. Think of this. This was a very young-looking guy," Trump said. "He’s got a lot of time left. … Coach Day’s overall coaching record is 70-10. In other words, Ryan, I’d like to be your agent. I want to represent you. And he won the big one, right? He won the big one, the biggest of them all. That’s fantastic. It’s an amazing achievement at a young age. The entire team and everybody up here, we want to thank you and congratulate you.”
Vance, an Ohio State alumnus, delivered a few words about his hometown team following Trump's remarks.
“Thanks to Coach Day and the entire team for being here at the White House," Vance said. "I am so proud to be part of team scarlet and gray today. Congratulations to the Ohio State Buckeyes on a hell of a 2024 season. … Proud of this team. Mr. President, thank you for hosting. And thanks to the whole state of Ohio for showing up and cheering for our Buckeyes.”
Following the speech, the team posed for a photo with Trump, Vance and the College Football Playoff championship trophy, which Vance nearly dropped – with TreVeyon Henderson and Cody Simon coming to the rescue – as he attempted to pick up the nearly 50-pound trophy.
I didnt want anyone after Ohio State to get the trophy so I decided to break it https://t.co/rS3Vw3BdO6
— JD Vance (@JDVance) April 14, 2025
Before heading to the White House, the Buckeyes also made a trip to the Lincoln Memorial on Monday morning. Part of the team was also set to be hosted by Vance at the Vice President’s official residence before returning to Columbus.
