Viral Florida Gators reporter Talia Baia shares her historic experience of covering Walter Clayton Jr. & other hoopers at the White House

The Florida Gators celebrated their national championship win with a trip to the White House, and reporter Talia Baia is giving fans an inside look at the day.

Baia, an on-air reporter who covers the Gators, shared photos and videos from Florida's historical visit to Washington, D.C., on Instagram on Friday. She included a snap of herself in front of the White House, a video of President Donald Trump's speech with the Gators players gathered around him and a series of other pictures and clips.

"Honored to cover history at the White House with the National Champs🐊🇺🇸 #press #eastwing," Baia captioned the post.

Baia isn't the only one giving Gators fans a look into the team's White House visit. Florida reporter Chris Harry gave updates on what the squad was up to over the course of their day in D.C. via X.

In a series of posts, he showed the Gators touring the Capitol, welcomed to the White House by an acoustic rendition of "I Won't Back Down" by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers and meeting with President Trump. Harry later shared a press release from the event.

"Mr. President, I like to think of our program similarly to how you think of the United States. We're a meritocracy. We work really hard and no matter what you look like or where you come from, and if you put the team first and win we're going to play you," Florida coach Todd Golden told Trump, according to Harry's press release.

"The reason we were successful this year is because we had incredible team talent. We had guys who were willing to play together and sacrifice individual stats for the good of the group and it led us to a 36-4 record — and a trip to the White House."

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Florida celebrated its latest accomplishment with a visit to the White House and reporters helped fans feel connected to the big day.

Florida's national championship season

The Florida Gators are coming off their first national championship in nearly two decades. In his third season as head coach, Todd Golden led his team to its first title since Florida won back-to-back championships in 2006 and 2007.

Golden's Gators entered the 2024-25 season ranked No. 21 in the AP Poll and jumped to No. 6 by Week 9 after opening the season with 13 straight wins.

NCAA Basketball: NCAA Final Four-Florida Champions Celebration - Source: Imagn

Florida experienced some ups and downs in SEC play, but a February 25 loss to unranked Georgia served as the Gators' final loss of the season.

Golden's squad won the SEC Championship and received a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Florida won six-straight March Madness contests, including against other top seeds Houston and Auburn, to secure the national title.

About the author

Lindsey Ware is a college sports journalist at Sportskeeda with over five years of experience working with publications such as The News & Observer, The Daily Tar Heel, Triangle Tribune and Cardiac Cane. She has also worked for Major League Baseball, The Holly Springs Salamanders, The Tri-City Chili Peppers, Tuffy Talk, Super Meteors Basketball, Just Good Network and Living Sport.

Lindsey has a Bachelor’s Degree in Media and Journalism from UNC Chapel Hill. Her education allowed Lindsey to gain experience in sports communication, which she honed in internships. Other than being a storyteller and sports fanatic, Lindsey is also a social media and marketing specialist.

Her favorite college team is UNC, although she grew up a N.C. State fan as both of her parents are Wolfpack alumni. Michael Jordan was a huge deal in North Carolina when Lindsey was growing up, and after a summer spent at UNC’s Sports Journalism Camp back in high school, Lindsey was set on being a Tar Heel.

Lindsey's favorite college coach of all time is Roy Williams. During her time attending UNC Chapel Hill and writing for The Daily Tar Heel, Lindsey was lucky enough to meet and speak with Williams a few times. He was like a celebrity on UNC’s campus and was beloved for his coaching style and success with the Tar Heels, accumulating three NCAA championship titles in 18 years.

When not watching or writing about sports, Lindsey enjoys reading, trying new restaurants and coffee shops, and spending time with my friends, family and dog. She also likes to journal, watch movies and paint.

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Edited by Ribin Peter