President Bush welcomed a host of 2004 and 2005 NCAA National Championship teams, including Auburn’s men’s swimming and diving team, on Tuesday afternoon on the South Lawn of the White House.

After taking pictures with the teams, President Bush welcomed the athletes to the South Lawn.

“Auburn is here as three-peat champions,” President Bush said of the Tigers. “Congratulations. We are glad you are here. Thank you for the Speedo. However I am not going to wear it, at least not in public.”

Auburn, which has won the last three men’s NCAA Division I Swimming and Diving Championships, presented the President with an Auburn jacket with his name on the back and a framed wall hanging that included pictures of an eagle flying in front of an American flag as well as a shot of the 2005 national champions celebrating.

“This is a huge honor for our team,” BJ Jones, Auburn’s 2005 team captain said. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thrill. It was a product of a lot of hard work, coaching expertise and recruiting. It was a nice reward to meet the leader of the free world and it was very inspiring.”

Jones, who was selected to present the President with the team gifts, had a chance to meet President Bush back in the hallway prior to the presentation.

“I was pretty floored to be able to make contact with him and I thanked him for allowing us to come,” Jones said. “It was cool to shoot the breeze with the President and it is something I will never forget.”

“It was an honor having our team here,” Auburn Head Coach David Marsh said. “It was a unique and humbling experience. It was most impressive to see the genuine warmth of the President as he greeted the team. He even gave us a ‘War Eagle’ as he spent several minutes with us and he made us feel very welcome at the White House.”

Prior to going to the White House, Congressman Mike Rogers showed the Tigers around the Capitol Building on Monday night, giving the team a sneak peek at what happens in Washington, D.C.

“The entire experience has been great,” Marsh said. “Getting to tour the Capitol and see the House (of Representatives) and Senate floors gave us a great perspective.”

Georgia's three NCAA Championship teams from the 2004-05 season attended Championship Day at the White House on Tuesday.

The Bulldogs' men's golf, gymnastics and women's swimming and diving teams each toured the East Wing of the White House, made a team photo with President Bush and enjoyed a ceremony with 12 other NCAA championship teams on the South Lawn.

Here is a sampling of comments made by the President during the ceremony:

"And then we have the Georgia Bulldogs, who are well represented today. It's the South Lawn; behave yourself. The Georgia men's golf team posted a wire-to-wire victory at the NCAA champions. In the final round, interestingly enough, all five of Georgia's golfers shot the same score, even par. That's called consistency. The Georgia women's swimming and diving team brought home their fourth NCAA championship. Interestingly enough, the Lady Bulldogs won all five of the relay races. And finally, the Georgia women's gymnastics team is with us today. They started the championship meet seeded number 12 and came out number one. Congratulations to the teams from Georgia."

"It's such an honor to have you all here. I want to thank you for being champs on the field; I want to thank you for being champs off the field. I know you know this, but there's a lot of boys and girls who watch -- watch you all to determine what it means to be a champ. You probably don't realize it, but when you're in the field of play, there's a lot of kids wondering what it takes."

"And therefore, when you serve your community, you're teaching a kid to read, or when you take the extra time to set a good example, you really are affecting people's lives. See, you have a responsibility as a champ, not only to win contests for your respective schools and set personal goals and achieve them, but I think you have a responsibility as a champ to set a good example. And I've read about the mentoring programs and the hospital work and all the good works that you have done, and I want to thank you for setting such a good example."

"Again, welcome to the White House. If you're a junior or a sophomore, work hard and come back. I'll be here to greet you. In the meantime, may God bless you all and your families. Thanks for coming."

Also at the ceremony was: UCLA Men's Water Polo, UCLA Women's Water Polo, UCLA Men's Tennis, Duke Women's Golf, Oklahoma Men's Gymnastics, Northwestern Women's Lacrosse, Johns Hopkins University Men's Lacrosse, University of Minnesota Women's Hockey, Michigan Women's Softball, University of Georgia Women's Swimming & Diving, University of Georgia Women's Gymnastics, University of Georgia Men's Golf, Stanford Women's Tennis, and Pepperdine Men's Volleyball.