Western Water Polo Association

Last updated
Western Water Polo Association
Western Water Polo Association logo.svg
Association NCAA
Founded1981
CommissionerChristy Medigovich (since 2013)
Sports fielded
  • 1
    • men's: 1
    • women's: 1
DivisionNational Collegiate
No. of teams11
Region Western United States, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia
Official website thewwpa.com

The Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) is a single sport intercollegiate college athletic conference sponsoring men's and women's water polo. The WWPA is affiliated with the NCAA, and includes 15 member institutions, mostly in California, with one institution each in Illinois, and West Virginia and two in Erie, Pennsylvania. The league has five teams in its men's league and nine in its women's league, with only Fresno Pacific and UC San Diego fielding teams for both sexes in the WWPA. The three easternmost schools, Gannon, Mercyhurst, and Salem, also field teams for both men and women, but only the women's teams are in the WWPA, with the men's teams instead playing in the Collegiate Water Polo Association.

Contents

The WWPA members play a regular season of conference and non-conference games, followed by a championship tournament at the conclusion of both the men's and women's seasons, with the winner earning the league's automatic bid to the NCAAs. [1]

Members

NCAA water polo is a fall sport for men and a spring sport for women. For women's members, the year of joining is the calendar year before the first season of competition. For men's members, the year of departure is the calendar year after the final season of competition.

Men's teams

InstitutionLocationNicknameJoinedPrimary
Conference
Division
Biola University La Mirada, California Eagles 2022 Pacific West NCAA D-II
Concordia University–Irvine Irvine, California Eagles 2016 Pacific West NCAA D-II
Fresno Pacific University Fresno, California Sunbirds 2014 Pacific West NCAA D-II
Gannon University Erie, Pennsylvania Golden Knights 2023 Pennsylvania State NCAA D-II
McKendree University Lebanon, Illinois Bearcats 2023 Great Lakes Valley NCAA D-II
Mercyhurst University Erie, Pennsylvania Lakers 2023 Pennsylvania State NCAA D-II
Salem University Salem, West Virginia Tigers 2023 Independent NCAA D-II

Women's teams

InstitutionLocationNicknameJoinedPrimary
Conference
Division
Biola University La Mirada, California Eagles 2022 Pacific West NCAA D-II
California State University, East Bay Hayward, California Pioneers 2002 California NCAA D-II
California State University, Monterey Bay Seaside, California Otters 2005 California NCAA D-II
Fresno Pacific University Fresno, California Sunbirds 2017 Pacific West NCAA D-II
Gannon University Erie, Pennsylvania Golden Knights 2014 Pennsylvania State NCAA D-II
McKendree University Lebanon, Illinois Bearcats 2017 Great Lakes Valley NCAA D-II
Mercyhurst University Erie, Pennsylvania Lakers 2015 Pennsylvania State NCAA D-II
Salem University Salem, West Virginia Tigers 2018 Independent NCAA D-II

Former members

InstitutionLocationNicknameJoinedLeftPrimary
Conference
Division(M)(W)
United States Air Force Academy Colorado Springs, Colorado Falcons 19812023 Mountain West NCAA D-I Green check.svg
California Baptist University Riverside, California Lancers 20132023 WAC NCAA D-I Green check.svg
University of California, Davis
(UC Davis)
Davis, California Aggies 19812023 Big West NCAA D-I Green check.svg
University of California, San Diego
(UC San Diego)
San Diego, California Tritons 19812023 Big West NCAA D-I Green check.svg
University of California, San Diego
(UC San Diego)
San Diego, California Tritons 20152020 Big West NCAA D-I Green check.svg
Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, California Lions 19872023 West Coast NCAA D-I Green check.svg
Santa Clara University Santa Clara, California Broncos 19812023 West Coast NCAA D-I Green check.svg
Sonoma State University [2] Rohnert Park Seawolves 20152020 CCAA NCAA D-II Green check.svg

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ohio Valley Conference</span> US college athletic conference

The Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. It participates in Division I of the NCAA; the conference's football programs compete in partnership with the Big South Conference in the Football Championship Subdivision, the lower of two levels of Division I football competition. The OVC has 11 members, six of which compete in football in the conference.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Atlantic Conference</span> American college athletic conference

The South Atlantic Conference (SAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level, which operates in the southeastern United States. The SAC was founded in 1975 as a football-only conference and became an all-sports conference beginning with the 1989–90 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mountain Pacific Sports Federation</span> American collegiate athletic conference

The Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) is a college athletic conference with members located mostly in the western United States, although it now has members as far east as Pennsylvania. The conference participates at the NCAA Division I level, primarily in Olympic sports that are not directly sponsored by a school's home conference.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big West Conference</span> NCAA Division I collegiate athletic conference in the western United States

The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The conference was originally formed on July 1, 1969, as the Pacific Coast Athletic Association (PCAA), and in 1988 was renamed the Big West Conference. The conference stopped sponsoring college football after the 2000 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship</span> Football tournament

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NCAA Division I</span> Highest division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association

NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athletic powers, with large budgets, more elaborate facilities and more athletic scholarships than Divisions II and III as well as many smaller schools committed to the highest level of intercollegiate competition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Lakes Valley Conference</span> NCAA Division II college athletic conference

The Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Its fourteen member institutions are located in the U.S. states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, and Missouri. There are also four associate members who participate in sports not sponsored by their home conferences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sooner Athletic Conference</span> American college athletic conference

The Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Originally developed as a five-team conference of Oklahoma-based schools, the SAC now boasts 12 schools in a league that spans four states – Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas, with a Missouri based school to join in 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UC San Diego Tritons</span> Collegiate athletic team in California

The UC San Diego Tritons are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of California, San Diego. The Tritons compete in NCAA Division I, as a member of the Big West Conference (BWC). UC San Diego sponsors 23 teams at the varsity level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UC Davis Aggies</span> Intercollegiate sports teams of University of Califlornia, Davis

The UC Davis Aggies are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Davis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wagner Seahawks</span> Intercollegiate sports teams of Wagner College

The Wagner Seahawks are composed of 23 teams representing Wagner College in intercollegiate athletics. Sports sponsored for both men and women are basketball, cross country, golf, lacrosse, tennis, track & field, and water polo. Sports sponsored only for men are baseball and football. Women-only sports are fencing, soccer, softball, swimming & diving, and triathlon, and field hockey. The Seahawks compete in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and are members of the Northeast Conference for all sports except water polo, in which the women compete in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and the men compete in the Collegiate Water Polo Association, and triathlon, in which all currently competing NCAA institutions are officially classified as independents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cal State Monterey Bay Otters</span>

The Cal State Monterey Bay Otters are the athletic teams that represent California State University, Monterey Bay, located in Monterey County, California, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) for most of its sports since the 2004–05 academic year; while its women's water polo teams compete in the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA). The Otters previously competed in the California Pacific Conference (CalPac) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) from 1996–97 to 2003–04.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">VMI Keydets</span> Intercollegiate sports teams of Virginia Military Institute

The VMI Keydets are the athletic teams that represent the Virginia Military Institute. All sports participate in the NCAA Division I, and all but three compete in the Southern Conference (the exceptions being men's and women's swimming and diving in the America East Conference, and women's water polo in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. VMI fields teams in sixteen different sports, ten for men and six for women.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fresno Pacific Sunbirds</span>

The Fresno Pacific Sunbirds are the athletic teams that represent Fresno Pacific University, located in Fresno, California, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports as a member of the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the Pacific West Conference (PacWest) for most of its sports since the 2012–13 academic year. while its men's and women's water polo teams compete in the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA). The Sunbirds previously competed in the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) from 1986–87 to 2011–12.

Andrew (Andy) Michael Stevens is an American water polo goalkeeper. While playing at Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, he was a 4-Time All-American. Previously he played for the United States Men's National Team, and most recently competed for Team USA at the 2013 FINA World Championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Concordia Golden Eagles</span> Athletic teams representing Concordia University Irvine

The Concordia Golden Eagles are the athletic teams that represent Concordia University Irvine, located in Irvine, California, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Golden Eagles primarily compete in the Pacific West Conference (PacWest) for most of their sports since the 2015–16 academic year; while its men's volleyball team competes in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF); and its men's water polo team competes in the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA). CUI previously competed in the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) from 1987–88 to 2014–15; and as an NAIA Independent from 1981–82 to 1986–87. The CUI women's water polo team competed in the Golden Coast Conference (GCC) until the 2022 spring season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golden Coast Conference</span>

The Golden Coast Conference (GCC) is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States in which its members compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association National Collegiate (D-NC) division. The conference sponsors one sport, water polo, and was founded in 2013 fielding women's teams. A men's division was added for Fall 2016, but was discontinued after the 2022 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LIU Sharks</span> Athletic teams representing Long Island University

The LIU Sharks are the athletics teams representing Long Island University's (LIU) campuses in Brooklyn and Brookville, New York. The Sharks compete in NCAA Division I athletics and are members of the Northeast Conference. The LIU Sharks are the result of the July 1, 2019 unification of the athletic departments which had previously represented two separate campuses of LIU, the NCAA Division I LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds and the NCAA Division II LIU Post Pioneers.

References

  1. "The WWPA". Western Water Polo Association. Retrieved June 4, 2011.
  2. "SSU to discontinue men's and women's tennis and water polo teams" . Retrieved 2023-11-05.