A History of the NCAA Water Polo Championship Brackets
The NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship is an annual tournament organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to determine the national champion of men's collegiate water polo among its member programs in the United States. Founded in 1969, it has a rich history of competition and has evolved over the years to include more teams and conferences.
Early Years and Tournament Expansion
For many years, all men's teams, whether from Division I, Division II, or Division III, were eligible to compete in the NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship. In 2013, the tournament expanded from a four-team bracket by adding two play-in games. These games were contested by the bottom four seeds, effectively creating a six-team bracket with a first-round bye for the top two teams. Starting with the 2023 tournament, the number of teams was increased to eight.
Dominance of California Schools
The four California-based power conference schools have consistently been the most successful in the NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship. The University of California, Berkeley, leads with 17 titles, followed by UCLA with 14 titles, Stanford with 11 titles, and USC with 10 titles.
Automatic Qualification and At-Large Bids
Conferences receiving automatic qualification have included the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA), the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF), and the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA). The remaining teams are selected at-large without geographical restrictions.In 2017 the conferences receiving automatic qualification were the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA), Golden Coast Conference (GCC), the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF), Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC), Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC), and the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA).
NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship Results
2012
The NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship was held on December 1 and 2, 2012, at Southern California's McDonald's Swim Stadium.Conferences receiving automatic qualification included the Collegiate Water Polo Association, the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation and the Western Water Polo Association. The remaining team was selected at-large without geographical restrictions.
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- Southern California (27-0) vs.
- UCLA (27-4) vs.
- Third placeDecember 2, 4:00 PM St.
2013
The NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship was held December 7 and 8, 2013, at Stanford's Avery Aquatic Center. This season marked the introduction of an expanded format, with six teams seeded into the tournament. The bottom four teams participated in play-in games to fill the four-team bracket. Four conferences received automatic qualification: the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA), the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF), Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC), and the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA). The remaining two teams were selected at-large without geographical restrictions. The tournament was seeded by the Men's Water Polo Committee on December 1. Conference representatives were Southern Cal (MPSF), Whittier College (SCIAC), UC San Diego (WWPA), and St.
- Game 1: #5 St. Francis College Brooklyn (22-10) def.
- Game 2: #3 Stanford (21-5) def.
- Seed No.1 Southern Cal (26-4) def. #5 St.
- Seed No. 2 Pacific (22-4) def.
- Semi-finalsFinal December 7, 1:00 PM #1 Southern California 10 December 8, 3:00 PM #4 St.
- Third placeDecember 8, 1:00 PM St.
2014
The NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship was held December 6 and 7, 2014, at UC San Diego's Canyonview Aquatic Center, La Jolla, CA. The tournament continued with the new format by adding two more teams to play in the four-team play-in games. Conferences receiving automatic qualification were the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA), the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF), Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC), and the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA). The remaining teams were selected at-large without geographical restrictions.
- Game 1: #4 UC San Diego (15-9) def.
- Game 2: #3 USC (22-6) def.
- Game 3, 1:00 PM PT: #1 seed UCLA (27-3) def.
- Game 4, 3:12 PM PT: #3 seed USC (23-6) def.
- Championship Dec. PT: #2 seed Stanford def.
- PT: #1 seed UCLA def.
2015
The NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship was held December 5 and 6, 2015, at UCLA's Spieker Aquatics Center, Los Angeles. The tournament continued with the new format by adding two more teams to play in the four-team play-in games. Conferences receiving automatic qualification were the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA), the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF), Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC), and the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA). The remaining teams were selected at-large without geographical restrictions.
- Game 1: #5 UCSD (14-13) def.
- Game 2: #3 USC (20-6) def.
- Game 3, 1:00 PM PT: #1 seed UCLA (28-0) def.
- Game 4, 3:12 PM PT: #3 USC (21-6) def.
- Championship Dec. PT: Cal def.
- PT: UCLA def.
2017
The NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship was held December 2 and 3, 2017, at USC, Los Angeles. The tournament continued with the new format with eight teams playing for the championship. Conferences receiving automatic qualification are the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA), Golden Coast Conference (GCC), the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF), Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC), Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC), and the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA).
2018
The NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship was held December 1 and 2, 2018, at Avery Aquatic Center, Stanford, California. The tournament continued with the format in which eight teams competed for the championship. Teams qualifying as champions of their conferences were Long Beach State, from the Golden Coast Conference (GCC); George Washington, from the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC); Stanford, from the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF); Princeton, from the Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC); Pomona-Pitzer, from the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC); and UC San Diego, from the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA). The remaining two teams, Southern California (MPSF) and UCLA (MPSF), were selected at-large without geographical restrictions.
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- Long Beach St. def.
- George Washington def.
- UC San Diego def.
- Long Beach St.
- UCLA def.
- Stanford def.
- USC def.
- USC def.
2019
The NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship was held December 7 and 8, 2019, at the Chris Kjeldsen Aquatic Center, Stockton, California. Seven teams played for the championship. Teams qualifying as champions of their conferences were Pepperdine, from the Golden Coast Conference (GCC); Bucknell, from the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC); Stanford, from the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF); Harvard, from the Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC); and UC Davis, from the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA). The remaining two teams, Southern California (MPSF) and Pacific (GCC), were selected at-large without geographical restrictions.
- Opening round - Thursday, Dec.
- Semifinals - Saturday, Dec.
- Championship - Sunday, Dec.
2021
The tournament was played at the Uytengsu Aquatics Center, on the campus of USC in Los Angeles. California defeated Southern California 13-12 to win the NCAA water polo national championship. It was California's 15th title.
- No. 3 UCLA 11, No.
- No. 4 USC 12, No.
- No. 3 UCLA 7, No.
2022
The national championship was held on December 3-4, 2022, at the Spieker Aquatics Complex on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley, California.
- Nov. 26, Noon: Princeton (27-5) 11 def.
- Game 1, Dec. 1, 3:00 PM PST: Pacific (22-6) 11 def.
- Game 2, Dec. 1, 5:00 PM PST: Southern California (19-6) 11 def.
- Game 3, Dec. 3, 2:00 PM PST: Cal (22-2) 16 def.
- Game 4, Dec. 3, 4:00 PM PST: Southern California (20-6) 15 def.
- Cal (23-2) 13 def.
2023
The national championship was held on December 1-3, 2023, at Uytengsu Aquatics Center on the campus of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California. Seven conferences were granted automatic bids. The Southern California Athletic Conference (SCIAC) declined an automatic invitation this year. The tournament was reduced to eight teams.
- First round: Friday, Dec.
- Second round: Saturday, Dec.
- Championship: Sunday, Dec.
- First round: Friday, Dec.
- Second round: Saturday, Dec.
- Championship: Sunday, Dec.
- (3) Fordham (30-0) 16 Long Beach St.
- First round: Friday, Dec.
- Second round: Saturday, Dec.
- Championship: Sunday, Dec.
- (4) Fordham (25-3) 13
2025
- San Jose St.
- ^ "2025 NC men's water polo championship: Bracket, schedule, scores". ncaa.com. NCAA.
- ^ "UCLA wins 2025 NC men's water polo championship". NCAA.com. NCAA.
NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship
The NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship was founded in 2001. Unlike most NCAA sports, only one National Collegiate championship is held each season with teams from Division I and Division II. Stanford has been the most successful program, with 10 championships; UCLA has the second most (8), followed by USC (6). While the tournament often includes teams from around the country, most programs are located within the state of California, and no school from outside California has ever surpassed third place or participated in the NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship game.
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Seven conferences have teams competing in women's water polo: the Big West Conference, the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA), the single-sport Golden Coast Conference, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF), the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC), and the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA). Some teams compete at Division III, either as members of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference or as an independent. Teams qualify by either winning their respective conference tournament or receiving one of the few at large bids available. 28 teams have appeared in the NCAA Tournament in at least one year starting with 2001 (the initial year that the post-season tournament was under the auspices of the NCAA). The University of California-Los Angeles Bruins are honored at the White House by President of the United States George W.
NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship Results
Note: The following results are presented to showcase the bracket history and evolution of the tournament.
2018
The NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship was held on May 8-13, 2018, at the USC Uytengsu Aquatics Center, Los Angeles, California. Ten teams were selected to participate in the annual event. Conference champions from the Big West, CWPA, Golden Coast Conference, MAAC, MPSF, SCIAC, and WWPA are represented with the seven automatic bids.
- Opening Round (May 8): Wagner def. UC-San Diego 10-7, UC Irvine def.
- First Round (May 11): No. 1 USC def. Wagner 12-5; No. 4 UCLA def. Pacific 8-4; No. 2 Stanford def. UC Irvine 14-8; No. 3 California def.
- Semi-finals (May 12): No. 1 USC def. No. 4 UCLA 10-6; No. 2 Stanford def. No.
- Championship (May 13): No. 1 USC def. No.
2017
The NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship was held on May 12-14, 2017, at the IU Natatorium; Indianapolis, IN. Ten teams were selected to participate in the annual event. Conference champions from the Big West, CWPA, Golden Coast Conference, MAAC, MPSF, SCIAC, and WWPA are represented with the seven automatic bids.
- Opening Round (May 6): Wagner def. UC-San Diego 6-5, Pacific def.
- First Round (May 12): No. 1 UCLA def. Wagner 17-2; California def. No. 4 UC Irvine 9-7; No. 2 Stanford def. Pacific 13-6; No. 3 USC def.
- Semi-finals (May 13): No. 1 UCLA def. Cal 14-11; No. 2 Stanford def. No.
- Championship (May 14, 3:00 PM ET): No. 2 Stanford def. No.
2016
The NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship was held on May 13-15, 2016, with UCLA, Los Angeles hosting. Eight teams were selected to participate in the annual event. Conference champions from the Big West, CWPA, Golden Coast Conference, MAAC, MPSF, SCIAC, and WWPA were represented with the seven automatic bids.
- Play-in games (May 10, 2016, Canyonview Aquatic Center at the University of California, San Diego): San Diego State def. Wagner 7-4, UC San Diego def.
- Tournament First Round games (May 13, 2016): UCLA def. UC San Diego 17-4, Stanford def. UC Santa Barbara 12-5, Southern California def. San Diego State 12-3, Michigan def.
- Semi-finals (May 14, 2016): Southern California def. Michigan 9-6, Stanford def.
- Championship (May 15, 2016): Southern California def.
2015
The NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship was held on May 8-10, 2015, with Stanford, Stanford, CA hosting. Eight teams participated in the event. As has been the case since 2011, conference champions from the MPSF, WWPA, SCIAC, CWPA, MAAC, and Big West represented the six automatic bids. They were joined by four at-large teams, with play-in games being conducted on May 2: UC San Diego (18-18) def. Whittier (21-14) 17-11, Princeton (29-3) def.
- Tournament First Round games (May 8, 2015): UCLA (24-2) def. UC San Diego 9-2, California (19-7) def. UCI (19-8) 6-5, Southern Cal (22-5) def. Hawaii (18-9) 14-7, Stanford (23-2) def.
- Semi-finals (May 9, 2015): UCLA def. California 9-5, Stanford def.
- Championship (May 10, 2015): Stanford def.
2014
The NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship was held on May 9-11, 2014, with USC, Los Angeles hosting. Eight teams participated. Play-in games among four at-large teams were conducted May 3 on the campuses of the higher-seeded teams, with No. 8 seed Indiana defeating No. 9 seed Wagner 11-6, and No. 7 seed UC San Diego defeating No.
- Tournament First Round games (May 9, 2014): No. 1 seed Stanford def. No. 8 seed Indiana 18-2, No. 2 seed UCLA def. No. 7 seed UC San Diego 12-8, No. 3 seed USC def. No. 6 seed UCI 14-11, No. 4 seed Cal def. No.
- Semi-finals (May 10, 2014): [1] Stanford def. [4] California 12-8, [2] UCLA def.
- Championship (May 11, 2014): [1] Stanford def.
2013
The NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship was held on May 10-12, 2013, with Harvard University, Cambridge, MA hosting. Eight teams participated.
- Tournament First Round games (May 10, 2013): No. 2 seed Stanford (27-2) def. No. 7 seed Iona (21-8) 20-3; No. 3 seed UCLA (26-6) def. No. 6 seed Princeton (26-5) 8-6; No. 1 seed Southern California (24-1) def. Pomona-Pitzer (18-16) 27-1; No. 4 seed Hawaii (21-9) def. No.
- Semi-finals (May 11, 2013): No. 2 seed Stanford def. No. 3 seed UCLA 5-3; No. 1 seed Southern California def. No.
- Championship (May 12, 2013): No. 1 seed Southern California def. No.
2012
The tournament was held at the SDSU's Aztec Aquaplex in San Diego, California with automatic bids for the MPSF, CWPA, Big West, MAAC, WWPA and SCIAC conferences.
- Tournament First Round games (May 11, 2012): No. 1 Stanford (23-2) def. No. 8 Pomona-Pitzer (21-16) 17-5; No. 2 UCLA (21-3) def. No. 7 Iona (24-11) 14-3; No. 3 Southern California (21-5) def. No. 6 Princeton (28-4) 14-2; No. 4 UC Irvine (24-6) def. No.
- Semi-finals (May 12, 2012: No. 1 Stanford def. No. 4 UC Irvine 12-3; No. 3 Southern California def. No.
- Championship (May 13, 2012): No. 1 Stanford def. No.
2011
The tournament was held at the University of Michigan's Canham Natatorium in Ann Arbor, Michigan with automatic bids for the MPSF (Stanford), CWPA (Indiana), Big West (UCI), MAAC (Iona), WWPA (UC San Diego) and SCIAC (Redlands).
- Tournament First Round games: No. 1 Stanford (25-1) def. No. 8 Iona College/University of Redlands (play-in winner) 22-7; No. 4 USC (18-6) def. No. 5 UCI (21-8) 14-9; No. 3 UCLA (24-6) def. No. 6 Indiana (21-8) 8-5; No. 2 California (24-4) def. No.
- Semi-finals: No. 2 California def. No. 3 UCLA 7-4; No. 1 Stanford def. No.
- Championship: No. 1 Stanford defeated No.
2010
The tournament field was announced on Monday, May 3, 2010, with the championship tournament on May 14-16 at San Diego State University's Aztec Aquaplex. Teams that received automatic bids were UCLA (MPSF), Michigan (CWPA), Marist (MAAC), Loyola Marymount (WWPA) and Pomona-Pitzer (SCIAC).
- Tournament Bracket: #1 Stanford (24-2) def. #8 Pomona-Pitzer (18-14) 23-3; #2 USC (22-3) def. #7 Marist (18-14) 20-5; #6 Loyola Marymount (27-4) def. #3 UCLA (20-7) 5-4; #4 Cal (24-8) def.
- Semi-finals: #1 Stanford def. #4 Cal 6-3; #2 USC def.
2009
The following conferences and institutions received automatic qualification for the championships, which were played on May 8-10: Collegiate Water Polo Association, Michigan; Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, Marist; Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, USC; Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, Cal Lutheran; and Western Water Polo Association, Loyola Marymount.
- The first-round games: #1 seed USC (24-1) def. #8 Cal Lutheran (19-12) 22-2; #2 Stanford (24-3) def. #7 Marist (18-13) 21-5; #3 UCLA (22-6) def. #6 Michigan (33-8) 13-6; and #4 Hawaii (18-8) def.
- Semi-finals: #1 USC def. #4 Hawaii 17-5; #3 UCLA def.
The UCLA Bruins women's team (3rd seeded) battled the #1 rated USC Trojans for the national championship on Sunday, May 10, 2009, at College Park, Maryland.
The Origins of Water Polo
The origins of water polo are somewhat obscure, but the word "polo" is the English pronunciation of the Indian word "pulu," which means ball. The game of water polo was first played in the United States in 1888. It featured the old rugby style of play, resembling American football in the water. It is believed that British holiday resort owners invented this pastime during the mid-1800s to attract guests. By 1869, a rubber ball began to replace the original ball, which was made from a pig’s stomach.
In 1870, the London Swimming Club formulated rules for the sport and hosted the first official game at the Crystal Palace Plunge in London. Games resembled rugby on the water and were based more on brute strength than athletic skill. In 1880, rules were introduced in Scotland to shift the game’s focus to skill over force. A bigger ball, similar to a soccer ball, was used, nets were introduced, and players could no longer tackle opponents who did not have possession of the ball.
In 1888, water polo was introduced into the United States by English swimming instructor John Robinson. The game featured the old rugby style of play, much like gridiron football in the water. The game of the day featured set plays like the “flying salmon,” where the player with the ball leapt through the air from the backs of his teammates to score a goal. As the sport grew in popularity, so did its level of violence, with few rules to prevent it. In the 1800s, the intent of the game was to place the ball with two hands against the wall at one end of the pool to score. In addition to the aggressive play, many of the pools and lakes in which it was played were often poorly filtered and very murky, creating even more mystery regarding the actions that took place beneath the surface. It was not uncommon for players to be dragged from the water unconscious. This may have added to the popularity, with crowds as many as 14,000 attending some games in New York City.
In fact, its popularity was so great it was named the first Olympic team sport in 1900. Meanwhile, the rest of the world adopted the Scottish rules: Hungary in 1889, Belgium in 1900, Austria and Germany in 1894, and France in 1895. By 1900, water polo was so popular it became the first team sport added to the Olympic Games program and has remained an Olympic sport ever since. The United States continued to play by their own rules until 1912, when, instead of playing their semi-final game in the National Championship tournament, the New York Athletic Club and the Chicago Athletic Association chose to fight instead.
Over the years the game has evolved to more of a soccer style in which an opponent could only make contact if a player held the ball. Women were not allowed to compete at the Olympics until the 2000 Games in Sydney, where Australia won the gold medal, the United States took the silver, and the bronze went to Russia. The most notorious incident in the history of Olympic water polo took place during the 1956 match between the Soviet Union and Hungary. The game was marred by brawls and became so brutal that officials called it off altogether.
Hungary has also fielded some of the most celebrated water polo players of all time. Dezso Gyarmati won a medal at five different Olympics from 1948-1964 (3 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze). Oliver Halassy, who represented Hungary three times between 1928-1936, won 2 gold and 1 silver. Hungarians are well-known for their extraordinary play in the water. Hungary has won the most medals in Olympic water polo history, with a total of thirteen, including 7 gold, four of them coming between 1932-1956.
Water polo within the United States was adopted as a championship sport for men in the collegiate system in the early 70’s, while women were added about 30 years later as participation grew. Internationally the game is played all over the world, with Europe and Asia boasting the world’s strongest programs for men. The USA is the only non-European team to win Olympic medals.
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