And, of course, I'm very thankful that this team is led by Coach Dabo Swinney, a man of great integrity and of the highest character, who is on a serious mission that goes beyond football. And he cares so very deeply about developing his players into young men who will be successful in life.
And I do want to acknowledge and thank our outstanding Athletic Director, Dan Radakovich. His leadership has taken Clemson athletics to the highest level possible.
Coach Swinney has a motto that all of you know, and many of us at the university have adopted that, and this is: Best is the standard.
At Clemson, we strive every day to live up to that standard across the entire university. The success of our football team and athletics, in general, has helped to elevate the entire profile of our great university. We're at an all-time high in almost every possible measure, from academic rankings, to applications, to retention rates, graduation rates, fundraising, research funding, ACT scores, SAT scores, and so many other measures.
We are determined - all of us in this room and back at the university - to keep pushing every single day to make a difference and to take Clemson to greater heights and service to our students, to our home state of South Carolina, and to this great country.
Thank you again, Mr. President and Mr. Vice President. Thank you for inviting us. Thank you for recognizing the Clemson University National Championship team. May God bless you all. And go Tigers. (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: And as your president said, that president, he has done some job. We can never forget the great job he's done as a school, as a university. That's a fantastic - a fantastic place, with an unbelievable reputation on its own.
I think we're going to take the entire football team down to another special place, the Oval Office. And I remember two years ago - (applause) - two years ago, Coach, we did that. And a lot of other Presidents don't do that. And we did it, and it seemed to have worked, right? (Laughter.) Whatever it was. Because they all wanted to come back.
So we're going to go; we're going to take the team down. I thought before I did that, I'd ask Senator Lindsey Graham and Senator Tim Scott - two people that have represented your state very, very well and that love your team, and very special friends of mine.
So maybe I'll start off with Tim and Lindsey, and say a couple of words. And we're going to travel down to a very, very important location, the Oval Office. Okay? We'll do that. We'll take pictures. Good? He likes that. Good. (Applause.)
Please, Tim. Please.
SENATOR SCOTT: Well, God bless you. How many of you guys are incredibly excited to be at the White House? (Applause.) (Laughs.) How many are looking forward to going down to the Oval Office? (Applause.) How about we all - how about we all give President Trump an amazing round of applause for being here tonight? (Applause.)
My comments will be quick. South Carolina is so proud of Clemson University, and specifically the athletes who represent us so well off the field as much as you do on the field. I can't say it any better than Dabo said it himself a few weeks ago; maybe it was championship night. He said, if you put God first, others second, and then yourself, amazing things can happen. This is a fulfillment of that mission. (Applause.)
SENATOR GRAHAM: Well, they said be short. I started this speech short and I'll end it short. (Laughter.) You can tell this is an educated crowd.
So I grew up in Central South Carolina. Anybody know where that's at? (Applause.) Yeah. So when the Tigers played, it was good. My dad owned the liquor store, so every Saturday was good for business.
I went to Pelham, Alabama on vacation, Dabo. (Laughter.) So, Tim has an incredible story. Mr. President, you have an incredible story. But these young men here, you have a story that nobody else can tell. Go Tigers. (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Lindsey. Thank you, Tim.
So, Coach, let's go on down to the Oval. And if the team would just follow - I'm going to say, follow your coach. Well, follow your coach. But let's go to the Oval. Let's take some really great pictures that you're going to have for a long time. A long time.
And, ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much. A tremendous honor. Thank you. Thank you. (Applause.)
