1980 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship

1980 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship

Dates	December 1980
Teams	8
Champions	Stanford (3rd title)
Runners-up	California (7th title game)
Third place	UC Irvine
Fourth place	Pepperdine
Matches played	12
Goals scored	214 (17.83 per match)
Attendance	2,401 (200 per match)
Top goal scorer(s)	Kevin Robertson, California & Scott Schulte, Bucknell (11)
Best player	John Gansel, Stanford & Kevin Robertson, California
← 1979 1981 →

The 1980 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship was the 12th 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 1980. ^[1]

Stanford defeated California in the final, 8–6, to win their third national title.

John Gansel (Stanford) and Kevin Robertson (California) were named the Co-Most Outstanding Players of the tournament. An All-Tournament Team, consisting of nine players, was also named.

Robertson and Scott Schulte (Bucknell) were the tournament's leading scorers (12 goals). Schulte is the only men's water polo player to be the leading scorer in four consecutive tournaments (1977–1980).

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
Bucknell	4th	1979
California	8th	1979
Loyola–Chicago	6th	1979
Pepperdine	3rd	1978
USC	5th	1973
Stanford	8th	1979
UC Irvine	11th	1978
UC Santa Barbara	8th	1979

Bracket

• Site: Belmont Plaza Pool, Long Beach, California

	Fifth place					Consolation semifinals					First round					Championship semifinals					Championship
												Stanford	22
												Loyola–Chicago	5
							Loyola–Chicago	3									Stanford	17
							USC	16									Pepperdine	6
												Pepperdine	9
												USC	8
		USC	11																			Stanford	8
		UC Santa Barbara	4																			California	6
												UC Irvine	13
												Bucknell	4
	Seventh place						Bucknell	8									UC Irvine	7			Third place
							UC Santa Barbara	10									California	9
		Loyola–Chicago	4									California	11									Pepperdine	8
		Bucknell	8									UC Santa Barbara	7									UC Irvine	10

All-tournament team

• John Gansel, Stanford (Co-Most outstanding player)
• Kevin Robertson, California (Co-Most outstanding player)
• James Bergeson, Stanford
• Jody Campbell, Stanford
• Peter Campbell, UC Irvine
• Bob Diepersloot, California
• Chris Kelsey, Stanford
• Alan Mouchawar, Stanford
• Terry Schroeder, Pepperdine

See also

• NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship

References

1. "Men's Water Polo Championship Results" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. Retrieved April 12, 2015.