The Clemson Tigers are heading to Pennsylvania Avenue once again.
Clemson defeated Alabama, 44-16, on Monday to secure the 2019 College Football Playoff National Championship. Days after the victory, Donald Trump announced he would host the team and head coach Dabo Swinney at the White House on Monday.
The meeting will mark the second time in three years that the Tigers visited the Trump White House. The team went to the Oval Office in 2017, months after they claimed the 2016 national championship title over Crimson Tide.
Clemson confirmed the upcoming White House visit in a statement Friday:
Clemson University’s football team, athletic department and university administration are looking forward to visiting the White House on Monday evening.
Over the past several decades, championship teams have traditionally visited the sitting president inside the White House. That practice has become more controversial under the Trump administration, as many athletes have refused to meet with POTUS due to his controversial policies and rhetoric. Teams like the Golden State Warriors and Philadelphia Eagles, as well as the current men's and women's college basketball national champions, did not meet with Trump following their championship wins.
