1976 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship

1976 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship

Tournament details
Dates	December 1976
Teams	8
Final positions
Champions	Stanford (1st title)
Runner-up	UCLA (5th title game)
Third place	UC Irvine
Fourth place	UC Santa Barbara
Tournament statistics
Matches played	12
Goals scored	252 (21 per match)
Attendance	3,050 (254 per match)
Top goal scorer(s)	Dave Breen, Arizona (17)
Best player	Chris Dorst, Stanford
←  1975 1977  →

The 1976 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship was the eighth annual NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship to determine the national champion of NCAA men's college water polo. Tournament matches were played at the Belmont Plaza Pool in Long Beach, California during December 1976. ^[1]

Stanford defeated UCLA in the final, 13–12, to win their first national title.

The leading scorer for the tournament was Dave Breen from Arizona (17 goals). Chris Dorst, from Stanford, was named the Most Outstanding Player. An All-Tournament Team, consisting of seven players, was also named.

Qualification

Since there has only ever been one single national championship for water polo, all NCAA men's water polo programs (whether from Division I, Division II, or Division III) were eligible. A total of 8 teams were invited to contest this championship.

Team	Appearance	Previous
Arizona	2nd	1975
Loyola–Chicago	2nd	1972
Pittsburgh	1st	Never
Stanford	5th	1975
Texas A&M	1st	Never
UC Irvine	8th	1975
UC Santa Barbara	6th	1974
UCLA	8th	1975

Bracket

• Site: Belmont Plaza Pool, Long Beach, California

	Fifth place					Consolation semifinals					First round					Championship semifinals					Championship
											Stanford		9
											Arizona		8
						Arizona		14								Stanford		7
						Loyola–Chicago		6								UC Santa Barbara		6
											UC Santa Barbara		13
											Loyola–Chicago		5
	Arizona		12																		Stanford		13
	Texas A&M		9																		UCLA		12
											UCLA		18
											Texas A&M		3
	Seventh place					Texas A&M		21								UCLA		14			Third place
						Pittsburgh		13								UC Irvine		9
	Loyola–Chicago		12								UC Irvine		18								UC Santa Barbara		7
	Pittsburgh		11								Pittsburgh		4								UC Irvine(2OT)		8

All-tournament team

• Chris Dorst, Stanford (Most outstanding player)
• Rob Arnold, Stanford
• Rick Johannsen, Stanford
• Drew McDonald, Stanford
• Boyd Philpot, UC Irvine
• John Stephens, UCLA
• Joe Vargas, UCLA

See also

• NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship

References

1. "Men's Water Polo Championship Results" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. Retrieved April 3, 2015.