Washington, D.C. — The U.S. Capitol tour guide directed everyone’s attention 180 feet straight up, to The Apotheosis of Washington fresco in the Rotunda’s eye, painted in 1865 by Constantino Brumidi.
Know your audience, the saying goes, and this guide did.
“The painting,” she said, “is about the same size as a baseball diamond.”
“There you go!” a delighted Denison baseball coach, Mike Deegan, said Tuesday, July 21, 2026, as his players craned their necks. “That’s a cool fact!”
In a historic year, the Big Red captured four NCAA national championships — three team titles in baseball, women’s basketball, and men’s swimming and diving, and a fourth title from Kael Shah ’26 and Ethan Green ’26 in men’s tennis doubles.
With the wins, Denison became the first Division III program in Ohio to win three NCAA team titles in three different sports in the same academic year. The program is one of only three in the country to win three or more NCAA team titles at the D-III level in the 2025-26 academic year.
This display of athletic prowess caught the attention of Ohio Sen. Jon Husted, himself a member of a Division III football championship team.
Earlier this summer, Husted invited all the players and Denison coaching staff from the three winning teams, as well as tennis doubles champions Shah and Green, to Washington. Women’s basketball coach Maureen Hirt and men’s and women’s swimming and diving coach Gregg Parini joined Deegan on the visit, along with members of their respective coaching staffs, about 50 student-athletes from all four sports, and some families.
Those who could make the trip toured the Capitol, watched Senate proceedings, and spoke at length with Husted. In a surprise appointment added near their arrival date, Husted also arranged for the teams to be celebrated with a visit to the East Room of the White House, where they were congratulated by President Donald Trump.
The White House visit is believed to be the Big Red’s second; coach Parini and the women’s swimming and diving team were invited for College Athlete Day in 2023 by President Joe Biden, after winning a national title earlier that year.
Seated in the gallery above the Senate floor, the Denison delegation watched as Husted read into the Congressional Record an account of each team’s record and final triumphs.
“I rise today to recognize an extraordinary year of achievement by Ohio’s own Denison University,” he began.
“I, too, as a senior at the University of Dayton, won a Division III national championship,” Husted said from the floor. “It brings back very special memories, because it’s very rare in life to close out an athletic career and walk off a champion. So I hope you’ll cherish it. It’s a special, special thing.”
Denison Associate Vice President and Director of Athletics Matt Tanney said he was seated in the Senate gallery awaiting Husted’s remarks when a woman seated near him leaned in. She was visiting from Washington state and asked if he was there for any particular reason.
Tanney filled her in about Denison’s student-athletes.
“She said, ‘I’m so honored to be sitting here with you,’” he said.
“This was a special way to cap a historic year,” Tanney said. “We’re grateful for the unique opportunity to spend a day in our nation’s capital, celebrating our student-athletes and coaches, joined by their parents and families who provide such amazing support for our teams.”
In between the day’s formalities, players toured the White House and Capitol, soaking up history at every turn and recording the passing moments as only college students can: Consider Big Red pitcher Cooper Marrs ’28, arms crossed, expression stoic, doing his best impression of the statue beside him of Founding Father and Boston beer icon, Samuel Adams of Massachusetts.
Silliness aside, Marrs said he was moved by the history surrounding him and the weight of the day.
“My dad is a super-big U.S. history buff,” he said. “I was here when I was like 12 years old, but this time it is much more intimate. We are unbelievably lucky to be able to do this.”
The visit, he said, capped a wild year for him and his teammates.
“It’s been a ride,” he said.
What’s in store in the coming academic and athletic year?
“That’s what we’re trying to figure out,” he said.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said women’s basketball point guard Abby Cooch ’27. “I’m just taking it all in, trying to live in the moment.”
Seamus McCann ’28, Brock Butchko ’28, and Ben Davis ’28 — teammates on the men’s swimming and diving team — said they were particularly struck by the personal nature of Husted’s invitation and itinerary.
After the formal Senate recognition, Husted met with the student-athletes, congratulating them again and fielding their questions about his days, and sometimes nights, full of marathon voting sessions and other Congressional responsibilities.
“I can’t stay up all night anymore, like I did when I was your age,” he told them.
He also had a question for them.
“What’s it take to be a winner?”
The answers came quickly from the Big Red.
“Commitment.”
“Hard work.”
“Grit.”
“Sacrifice.”
Deegan wasn’t surprised by the answers.
“We ask so much of our student-athletes,” he said. “To be able to give them an experience like this … I’m leaving here inspired, and I’m sure our players are as well.”
