Donald Trump snubs ESPN's March Madness bracket request

Feb. 15 (UPI) -- An annual presidential tradition came to an end this week, when Donald Trump declined to fill out a March Madness bracket for ESPN.

The President of the United States will not partake in what became a televised event for Barack Obama during his two-terms. During the segment, Obama discussed the reasoning for selecting his winning college basketball teams while appearing on SportsCenter.

"We expressed our interest to the White House in continuing the presidential bracket," an ESPN spokesperson said. "They have respectfully declined."

White House spokeswoman Hope Hicks told the Washington Post that it hopes to work with the network in the future.

"We look forward to working with ESPN on another opportunity in the near future," Hicks told the Post.

Two of Obama's past brackets from the men's and women's college basketball tournaments are owned by the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.

Obama previously invited ESPN's Andy Katz to the White House to film the segment. During his bracket-picking tenure, Obama picked the correct National Champions once, with North Carolina in 2009. In his best bracket, Obama picked 70 percent of the games correctly in 2012.