The NCAA women’s college basketball tournament was one of the most thrilling competitions in recent memory, and it ended with utter madness.
LSU defeated Iowa, 102-85, in the national championship title game Sunday. Both teams enjoyed very exciting runs during the entirety of the tournament, especially thanks to standout performances from LSU’s Angel Reese, as well as Iowa’s Caitlin Clark.
This was one of those tournaments you would want to watch on repeat if you could. But it was LSU who cut down the nets when it was all said and done, becoming national champions for the first time in program history.
But since the Tigers’ title, there’s been some controversy involving them, first lady Dr. Jill Biden and the team’s potential celebratory visit to the White House. Let us explain what happened with a detailed timeline…
SUNDAY: Jill Biden attends the NCAA women's basketball national championship game
LSU’s highly anticipated game against Iowa on Sunday afternoon averaged 9.9 million viewers on ABC, which means it was actually the most-watched women’s college game on record.
Dr. Biden was in attendance and reportedly asked to visit both teams before the game.
LSU’s Reese, who was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, elaborated during a recent appearance on a podcast, I AM ATHLETE, with co-hosts Brandon Marshall and Ashley Nicole Moss (at the 27-minute, 27-second mark):
“Apparently, she was supposed to come to our locker room before the game. But we said no. … She was supposed to come to our locker room and go to Iowa’s locker room. I don’t know if she talked to them. I don’t know if she did. But we said we didn’t want to. We didn’t want her to come into the locker room.”
When asked why, she said it was because President Joe Biden “put somebody else” to win the national championship and didn’t have LSU in his bracket. For context: Biden predicted Villanova would win the women’s title and his bracket did not have LSU advancing past the second round.
(Biden isn’t exactly known for having impressive predictive skills about the sports world, and his incredibly chalky men’s bracket was busted by an early Arizona loss not six hours after he published it.)
MONDAY: Jill Biden said runner-up Iowa should visit the White House, in addition to LSU
Dr. Biden said Tuesday that she thought Iowa should visit the White House along with LSU. Via the Associated Press:
“I know we’ll have the champions come to the White House, we always do. So, we hope LSU will come,” she said. “But, you know, I’m going to tell Joe I think Iowa should come, too, because they played such a good game.”
The most generous, good-faith reading of this suggestion is that Dr. Biden was simply being diplomatic. She was, however, widely criticized for attempting to include Iowa in LSU’s celebration.
LSU’s Reese tweeted that Biden’s comments were “a joke” as it’s not customary for a losing team to receive such an invitation. Reese’s teammate Alexis Morris posted on Twitter asking if the Obama family would want to host them at their house.
For The Win’s Prince Grimes shared his thoughts:
“[Dr. Biden] said it’s because they played such a good game, which, they lost by 17 points. But even if that were true, when has that ever mattered? Never have I heard of a losing team getting an invite to the White House. That’s supposed to be one of the perks of winning, and she’s trying to turn it into the ultimate participation trophy. Call me cynical, but something tells me it wouldn’t have gone the same way had LSU lost.”
It’s hard to disagree with Prince’s persuasive argument.
TUESDAY (morning): Dr. Biden's comments were clarified
Her comments in Colorado were intended to applaud the historic game and all women athletes. She looks forward to celebrating the LSU Tigers on their championship win at the White House.
— Vanessa Valdivia (@vvaldivia46) April 4, 2023
The first lady’s press secretary, Vanessa Valdivia, said Dr. Biden’s comments were meant to “applaud the historic game and all women athletes” and that she looks forward to celebrating LSU’s victory at the White House.
But the damage was already done. Reese posted to Instagram on Tuesday and insisted the Tigers aren’t going, and Morris posted on Twitter asking if the Obama family would want to host them at their house instead.
TUESDAY (afternoon): Iowa makes it clear it wouldn't attend the White House as the runner-up
Lisa Bluder, Iowa’s head coach, tweeted Tuesday that these visits “should belong” only to the winners of the tournament.
“I gratefully acknowledge the First Lady’s sentiments, but a day at the White House should belong solely to the champion, LSU and Coach Mulkey. We would welcome the First Lady and President to come to Iowa’s ‘House’ — Carver Hawkeye Arena — any time!”
Iowa’s Clark, named Player of the Year, separately said Tuesday that she hopes to visit the White House on different terms but that this trip should be for LSU.
Clark still has multiple years of eligibility before she can declare for the WNBA Draft, so she will have another chance to earn a celebratory visit by actually winning the tournament.
TUESDAY (evening): LSU's Angel Reese reiterated that the team wouldn't go to the White House
Dr. Biden’s postgame invitation to include Iowa was not well-received.
During a recent appearance on the I AM ATHLETE podcast on Tuesday, Reese (who was unfairly criticized for celebrations during the tournament) shared more thoughts.
Angel Reese on Jill Biden inviting both LSU AND Iowa to the White House:
“I just know if the roles were reversed, they wouldn’t be the same. If we were to lose, we would not be getting invited to the White House.”
Subscribe for more #PaperRoute 📰 → https://t.co/psv6vVha0h pic.twitter.com/ApHYnhWOe5
— I AM ATHLETE (@IAMATHLETEpod) April 4, 2023
“If we were to lose, we would not be getting invited to the White House,” she said.
This was another example of a double standard Reese faced during her tournament run. Here is more from Reese (at the 27-minute mark):
“I don’t accept the apology because you said what you said. … You can’t go back on certain things that you say. … They can have that spotlight. We’ll go to the Obamas’. We’ll go see Michelle. We’ll see Barack.”
Former President Barack Obama tweeted his congratulations to LSU on Monday, but we will see if Barack and Michelle would actually extend an invitation to Reese and her teammates.
THURSDAY (evening): An LSU spokesman said the Tigers will attend the White House if invited
Despite Reese’s comments, LSU reportedly intends to attend the White House.
LSU head coach Kim Mulkey has historically valued visits to the White House after winning championships.
Despite the fact that White House visits became more prevalent in the 1980s, that initiative didn’t initially include women’s sports. So when Mulkey (as a player for Louisiana Tech) won the NCAA women’s basketball tournament in 1982, her celebration did not feature a White House visit.
Just two years later in 1984, though, former President Ronald Reagan invited the women’s college basketball championship-winning USC Trojans to the Old Executive Office Building next to the White House. Per USA TODAY Sports, 31 of the following 32 NCAA women’s college basketball champs were honored by the U.S. president at the time.
Mulkey, however, has made multiple visits to the White House as a coach after winning national titles.
Her Baylor team visited with President George W. Bush in the White House when it won the 2005 championship and then visited President Barack Obama after winning the 2012 championship.
Mulkey led Baylor to yet win another collegiate women’s basketball title in 2019. This time, she made history. There were fourteen major basketball championships won across the NBA, WNBA, men’s college basketball and women’s college basketball during the Donald Trump presidency.
Hers was the only major basketball team, and the first women’s team in any sport, to visit Trump’s White House. From the Associated Press in 2019:
“It’s not a political issue for me. 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. … We were honored when President Bush was in the office. We were honored when Barack Obama was in the office. We’d be honored if Donald Trump invited us. With politics aside, we should go to say we went to the White House.”
FRIDAY: President Biden calls Mulkey and Reese to offer his congratulations and an invitation
President Biden called both Mulkey and Reese on Friday to congratulate them on their national championship and invite the team to the White House, per The Hill.
Reese, a team captain, said that on Friday she plans to accept the invitation. She clarified that she is a “team player” and wants to do what’s best for the team. She said, via ESPN:
“You don’t get that experience ever. I know my team probably wants to go for sure. My coach is supportive of that. I want to do what’s best for the team. If they would like to go and we decide to go, we’re going to go. … I think it’ll be good.”
While no date has been set yet, this should be a fascinating visit.
