Jill Biden Wants Runners-Up at White House, Too

'It was such a great game,' first lady says of LSU's victory over Iowa
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Apr 3, 2023 6:00 PM CDT
Defeated Team Also Should Go to White House, Jill Biden Says
Fans line 9th Street on Monday as the Iowa women's college basketball team returns home to Coralville.   (Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen via AP)

First lady Jill Biden said Monday that she wants the defeated Iowa women's basketball team to be invited to the White House in addition to the national title winner Louisiana State University. She watched LSU's 102-85 victory from the stands on Sunday night. Biden, speaking at the Colorado state capitol in Denver, praised Iowa's sportsmanship and congratulated both teams on their performance, the AP reports. "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 White House didn't immediately respond to a request for comment about whether President Biden would also extend an invitation to Iowa—and whether it would be a joint visit with LSU or a separate engagement. In her remarks, his wife also marveled at the changes in women's sports in the US since Title IX took effect in 1972, giving women equal rights in sports at schools that receive federal funding. "It was such a great game," the first lady said. "I'm old enough that I remember when we got Title IX. We fought so hard, right? We fought so hard. And look at where women's sports have come today."

(More NCAA women's basketball stories.)

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