The NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship is an annual tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA men's collegiate water polo. Beginning in 1969, it has been held every year except 2020, when it was postponed to March 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. With a limited number of NCAA water polo programs at the national level, all men's teams, whether from Division I, Division II, or Division III, are eligible to compete each year in the National Collegiate tournament. The tournament was expanded from a four-team bracket in 2013 by adding two play-in games that are contested by the bottom four seeds, effectively creating a six-team bracket with a first-round bye for the top two teams. This makes it the sport with the fewest teams reaching the NCAA tournament; this is because there are only 43 men's water polo teams between all three NCAA divisions.
The NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship has existed since the 2001 season. 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 independently. Teams qualify by either winning their respective conference tournament or receiving one of the few at large bids available. Unlike most NCAA sports, only one National Collegiate championship is held each season with teams from Division I, Division II, and Division III competing together.
The NCAA men's volleyball tournament, officially titled the NCAA national collegiate men's volleyball championship, is an annual competition that determines the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championship in American college men's volleyball. It had been the only NCAA championship in the sport from 1970 until 2012, when the NCAA launched a Division III championship.
The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Big Ten Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). For football, they are in the Football Bowl Subdivision of Division I. UCLA is second to only Stanford University as the school with the most NCAA team championships at 123 NCAA team championships. UCLA offers 11 varsity sports programs for men and 14 for women.
The UC Irvine Anteaters are the athletic teams fielded by the University of California, Irvine. Its athletics programs participate in the NCAA's Division I, as members of the Big West Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. For earlier years of the school's existence, the teams participated at the Division II level with great success as explained below.
Natalie Golda is a former American water polo player and currently the head coach of the newly formed Fresno State Bulldogs water polo team to begin competition in 2018. Considered one of the greatest women's water polo players of all time, her senior leadership helped guide the 2005 UCLA Bruins to their seventh national championship. In May 2005 Golda received the Peter J. Cutino Award, given to the best player in women's collegiate water polo. She was also a member of the US Water Polo Team that won the bronze medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics and the silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In 2015, she was inducted into the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame.
The San Jose State Spartans are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent San José State University. SJSU sports teams compete in the Mountain West Conference at the NCAA Division I level, with football competing in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).
The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos are the intercollegiate athletic teams who represent the University of California, Santa Barbara. Referred to in athletic competition as UC Santa Barbara or UCSB, the Gauchos participate in 19 NCAA Division I intercollegiate sports with the majority competing in the Big West Conference. UCSB currently fields varsity teams in 10 men's sports and 9 women's sports.
The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer team is an NCAA Division I college soccer team composed of student-athletes attending the University of California, Santa Barbara. The Gauchos play their home matches at Harder Stadium. Like most of the other UC Santa Barbara Gauchos athletic teams, the men's soccer team competes in the Big West Conference.
Courtney Lynn Kaiulani Mathewson is an American water polo player, part of the US team that won the gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics and 2016 Summer Olympics. She played water polo for the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Bruins during their four-consecutive NCAA National Champion Women's Water Polo championships, and was named to the All-Tournament first team. At UCLA, she majored in sociology.
Jillian Amaris Kraus is a water polo player. She won a gold medal in the 2005 Junior World Championships, won four straight NCAA Women's Water Polo Championships with UCLA, and has played with the United States women's national water polo team.
The UC Davis Aggies are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Davis.
The 2016 NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship was the 16th annual tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA women's collegiate water polo. Tournament matches were played at the UCLA Spieker Aquatics Center in Los Angeles, California from May 13–15, 2016. The USC Trojans defeated the 2015 champions, the Stanford Cardinal, 8-7 to win their fifth national title, while finishing the season 26-0.
The 2016 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship was the 48th annual NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship to determine the national champion of NCAA men's collegiate water polo. Tournament matches were played at the Spieker Aquatics Complex at the University of California in Berkeley, California from December 3–4, 2016. The five conferences receiving automatic qualification were: the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA), Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF), Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC), Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) and the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA). California defeated USC 11–8 to win the national title in double overtime.
The 2017 NCAA National Collegiate Women's Water Polo Championship was the 17th annual tournament to decide the championship of NCAA women's collegiate water polo. Two play-in games were held on May 6, with the winners advancing to the main tournament, May 12-14 at Indiana University Natatorium in Indianapolis, Indiana, hosted by IUPUI. Stanford defeated UCLA 8-7 to win its third national championship in four years.
The 2020 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship occurred from March 18–21, 2021 in Los Angeles, California, at the Uytengsu Aquatics Center. This was the 52nd NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship. Six teams participated in this championship. Although this was the 2020 championship, it was played in 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The rankings before the tournament: No. 1 Stanford, No. 2 California, No. 3 UCLA and No. 4 USC.
The 2021 NCAA National Collegiate Women's Water Polo Championship was the 19th edition of the NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship, the annual tournament to decide the championship of NCAA women's collegiate water polo. The tournament was held May 14–16, 2021, at the Spieker Aquatics Center in Los Angeles, California, hosted by the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
The 2021 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship occurred from December 4–5, 2021 in Los Angeles, California at the Spieker Aquatics Center. This was the 53rd NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship. Seven teams participated in this championship. Opening round game-one was played at Princeton University. The UCLA Bruins were the defending national champions and the 2021 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) champions. The rankings before the tournament: No. 1 University of California, No. 2 University of Southern California, No. 3 University of California Los Angeles, No. 4 Stanford University, No. 5 Long Beach State University.
The 2022 NCAA National Collegiate Women's Water Polo Championship was the 20th edition of the NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship, the annual tournament to decide the championship of NCAA women's collegiate water polo. The tournament was held May 4–8, 2022, at the Canham Natatorium in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Stanford defeated USC 10–7 for the program's eighth national title.
The 2023 NCAA National Collegiate Women's Water Polo Championship was the 21st edition of the NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship, the annual tournament to decide the championship of NCAA women's collegiate water polo. The tournament was held from May 10 to May 14, 2023, at the Eberhardt Aquatics Center in Stockton, California. The championship game was streamed live on ESPNU. Stanford defeated USC 11-9 for the program's ninth national title.
