President Donald Trump offered congratulations to Indiana and Miami ahead of their College Football Playoff championship showdown in Florida on Monday night, which he is expected to attend alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

In a statement released by the White House, the president said college football reflects “our timeless American values of family, freedom, unity, and hard work,” calling it a symbol of the nation’s “spirit.” 

“For more than 150 years, college football has been a cherished fixture in American culture.  Every fall and winter, massive crowds flock to stadiums in college towns all across our Nation to witness the epic display of loyalty, rivalry, tradition, and regional identity erupting throughout the stands and on the field below.  From the very first collegiate matchup in 1869, our country’s love of this storied Saturday ritual has been passed down from one generation to the next and endured as an iconic American institution,” his message read. 

“At its best, college football reflects our timeless American values of family, freedom, unity, and hard work and represents the pinnacle of our national spirit.”

Trump, who has become an expected fixture at sporting events in both his first and second term, wished both teams luck as Indiana makes its first appearance in the national title game under second-year coach Curt Cignetti, and Miami seeks its sixth title and first in over 25 years. 

“Melania and I congratulate the Indiana Hoosiers and the Miami Hurricanes on making it to the College Football Playoff National Championship. God bless the talented players and dedicated coaches, the families who love and support them, and the faithful fans who cheer them on. May the best team win!”

Trump has made sports a priority in his second term, both as a matter of policy and personal interest.

TRUMP TO ATTEND COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF CHAMPIONSHIP GAME IN MIAMI WITH RUBIO

In February, he signed the “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” executive order, which prompted the NCAA to update its policy the following day to limit women’s competition to biological females. 

Soon, other sports governing bodies followed suit, but a handful of Democrat-controlled states, most notably Maine, California, and Minnesota, refused to comply. Legal battles ensued, including two that were heard before the Supreme Court this month – Little v. Hecox and West Virginia v. B.P.J.

Trump has also spoken at length about the state of college athletics in the world of name, image and likeness (NIL). It was reported in May after a meeting with former Alabama head coach Nick Saban that he was considering an executive order to regulate NIL deals in college athletics. He then signed the “Saving College Sports” executive order in July which set new restrictions on payments to college athletes and implemented demands that schools account for preserving resources for non-revenue sports. 

Outside of policy, Trump has attended several sporting events in his first year.

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In April, Trump sat alongside UFC President Dana White outside the octagon for UFC 314 in Miami and again two months later at UFC 316 in New Jersey. He also attended several events in September, including the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black in New York and a New York Yankees game on Sept. 11, 24 years after the 9/11 attacks. He was also present at the U.S. Open men’s final earlier that month. 

Trump attended the Washington Commanders game in November, becoming the first sitting president to attend an NFL regular-season game since 1978, when former President Jimmy Carter was in office.

Top-seeded Indiana, led by Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza, will take on Miami at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, Monday at 7:45 p.m. ET.

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CHICAGO — We’ve seen these movies before, or at least most of them.

With the NFL’s conference championship games set — the Rams at Seattle following New England at Denver — three of the four possible Super Bowl permutations are rematches.

Rams-Patriots? There have been two of those, at the end of the 2001 and 2018 seasons.

And Seattle has played both combinations, beating the Broncos in the 2013 season and losing to the Patriots a year later.

Of the four possibilities, the only one that hasn’t happened is Rams-Broncos.

There are strong ownership ties binding those two franchises. Among his many sports holdings, Rams owner Stan Kroenke also owns the Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche. Although he built his empire with real estate and as a developer, he’s married to Ann Walton Kroenke — of the Walmart family — who is a first cousin of Rob Walton, who led the group that purchased the Broncos in 2022.

The Broncos last won the Super Bowl 10 years ago, weeks after the Rams were approved to move back to Los Angeles, and it happened at Levi’s Stadium, site of this year’s game. That was when Peyton Manning won his second ring, with his second franchise, then called it a career.

There’s a possibility that Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford could follow that blueprint. He’s on his second team, having spent the first part of his career with Detroit, and he already has one ring. But whereas Manning was clearly in the sunset of his storied career, Stafford remains at the top of his game, and likely will be this season’s NFL Most Valuable Player.

Still, Stafford will turn 38 the day before the Super Bowl, and it wouldn’t be much of a curveball if that were his last game, especially if the Rams were to win.

Rams tight end Terrance Ferguson is from Littleton, Colo., a suburb of Denver, and Broncos general manager George Paton is from La Cañada and played football at Loyola High and UCLA.

If the Seahawks were to win the NFC — and oddsmakers have them as 2½-point favorites — they would look to repeat against Denver or atone for that painful loss to New England.

It was at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, remember, that Seattle rolled over Manning and the Broncos, 43-8, behind a smothering defense. Pete Carroll’s team looked unbeatable.

A year later in Arizona, one of the most excruciating moments in Seattle sports history.

With 20 seconds left and the Seahawks a yard away from the go-ahead touchdown, Patriots rookie Malcom Butler picked off a goal-line pass by Russell Wilson. Seattle inexplicably decided to throw instead of handing off to battering ram Marshawn Lynch, who was all but automatic in short-yardage situations.

The Los Angeles Rams and Chicago Bears gave it all they had in the NFC Divisional Round on Sunday night and they delivered an epic matchup that NFL fans will remember for a while.

Rams rookie kicker Harrison Mevis nailed the game-winning field goal to send Los Angeles home happy, 20-17. The Rams will meet the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship.

Los Angeles running back Kyren Williams punched the go-ahead score into the end zone and the defense stymied the Chicago Bears at the goal line in what appeared to be the last stand.

Williams’ 5-yard touchdown run ended a 14-play, 91-yard drive with 8:50 left in the game. It was Williams’ second touchdown of the game and it was exactly what Los Angeles needed to win the game as scoring was extremely difficult to come by in the second half.

The Bears failing to get into the end zone after a 12-play, 61-yard drive was the closest Chicago got in the second half. The Bears punted three times and Caleb Williams threw a crucial interception in the third quarter on their previous second-half drives.

But Williams had one trick up his sleeve.

With their backs against the wall, the Bears star  mustered up the last bit of magic he could. He took the snap on 4th-and-4 from the Rams’ 14-yard line. He felt the pressure and ran about 25 yards backward before he decided to fire the ball into the end zone with three Rams defenders in his face.

Somehow, Williams found tight end Cole Kmet in the end zone for the touchdown. Kmet broke free from Rams cornerback Cobie Durant and secured the catch. Cairo Santos hit the game-tying extra point and the game was sent into overtime.

BEARS’ NATIONAL ANTHEM SINGER SENDS NFL FANS INTO FRENZY WITH PERFORMANCE BEFORE PLAYOFF GAME

Williams made a similar play in the NFC Wild Card Round matchup against the Green Bay Packers. The play saved their season – as did the one on Sunday night.

In the overtime period, Williams put the game on his shoulder. He made a long run on third down to keep the drive alive early in the series. On 4th-and-1, the Bears didn’t flinch and went for a first down. Again, Williams’ number was called and he got the yardage needed to extend the drive. Just when it appeared that the Bears had everything going their way, Williams threw his third pick of the night to Kam Curl.

Matthew Stafford then locked in and led the Rams on the game-winning drive that ended with the Mevis field goal.

Stafford was 20-of-42 with 258 passing yards. He was sacked four times. Williams led the Rams with 87 rushing yards on 21 carries. Colby Parkinson had three catches for 56 yards.

Williams was 23-of-42 with 257 passing yards, two touchdown passes and three picks. D’Andre Swift had 76 rushing yards on 19 carries. Bears tight end Colston Loveland led the team with four catches for 56 yards.

The Rams are back in the NFC Championship Game for the first time since the 2021 season. In that year, Los Angeles topped the San Francisco 49ers and then defeated the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI.

It will be the third conference title game appearance in the Sean McVay era. The Rams defeated the New Orleans Saints in the controversial NFC Championship in the 2018 season. But Los Angeles lost to the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl.

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Los Angeles will take on the Seahawks for the right to play in Super Bowl LX. The winner will either face the Denver Broncos or New England Patriots.

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