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White House serenades Florida Gators with acoustic cover of 'I Won't Back Down'

FaceProfileby:Thomas Goldkamp•05/21/25
White House
Photo by Josh Morgan / USA TODAY Sports

The national champion Florida basketball team is visiting the White House today, set to be honored by the president for its accomplishments. And the White House has really rolled out the red carpet for the team.

In one corner of the famous political building, two musicians were waiting to greet the Gators. And they had a special song ready to roll.

It was an acoustic cover of Tom Petty‘s ‘I Won’t Back Down,’ which has become an anthem of sorts for the program following Petty’s death. The song is played now after the third quarter of football games, with the entire stadium chiming in. It’s become an awesome and powerful tradition.

So it was a nice touch for the White House to pay tribute. Check it out below.

The national champions were getting their money’s worth at the White House on Wednesday, according to documentation of the trip provided by team reporter Chris Harry. Among other things, center Rueben Chinyelu, who recently withdrew from the NBA Draft and announced his intentions to play for the Gators in 2025-26, was seen ducking into a secret tunnel in the Capitol building.

The squad took a number of other pictures in front of iconic buildings, including the Capitol and the Washington Monument.

The meat of the celebration will come later in the day. Regardless, it looks like a fun afternoon for Florida.

Next year, the Gators will be looking to do something they did back in 2006 and 2007: repeat as national champions. To that end, there’s been some big news in recent days.

Florida just added a commitment from star Arkansas point guard Boogie Fland, one of the top names available in the NCAA transfer portal. That’s in addition to Princeton guard Xaivian Lee, another prolific scorer.

Those two will help anchor a backcourt that loses some major veteran leadership. But the frontcourt could retain virtually entirely intact.

The big piece outstanding is forward Alex Condon, who is testing the NBA Draft waters currently. But if he returns, Florida will have arguably the top frontcourt in the nation. Chinyelu is back, as is small forward Thomas Haugh. Throw in experienced backup big Micah Handlogten, who actually started in 2023-24, and 7-foot-9 freshman Olivier Rioux and Florida is absolutely loaded.

Maybe even loaded enough to make another White House visit. Maybe.