Florida Senate proclaims Florida State national champion

The Florida State Seminoles are the national champions -- at least in the eyes of the state Senate.

The coronavirus outbreak put an end to the NCAA men's basketball tournament before it could begin, prompting state Sen. Joe Gruters to introduce a resolution Thursday proclaiming the Noles "champions by default."

Lawmakers voted 37-2 to pass the resolution late Friday.

Florida State went 26-5 and won the first Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season title in school history. The Seminoles were No. 4 in the most recent AP and coaches polls.

Gruters, a Republican who represents Sarasota County and part of Charlotte County, received his bachelor's degree from FSU in 1999 and served on the university's board of trustees from 2011 to 2016.

He wrote in the resolution that the Seminoles "were favored to challenge the top seeds in the national tournament and take home the national title" and highlighted the "tremendous skill on the court and the heart and spirit shown by the players and coaches."

The resolution concluded by saying that it will be presented to coach Leonard Hamilton and university president John Thrasher "as a tangible token of the sentiments of Florida State."