NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship appearances by school
The following is a list of National Collegiate Athletic Association college water polo teams from all divisions that qualified for the NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship since its debut in the 1969–70 school year. The list features the qualified schools along with appearances, years, active streak, debut, last, and best result. From 1969 to 1994, the tournament featured a round of eight-team bracket and a single-elimination format along with consolation. From 1994 to 2012, the tournament consisted of only a four-team bracket with a semifinals, third place, and championship match. Since 2012, the tournament had teams qualifying from the first round to semifinals based on regular season performance and other measures.[1]
| NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| School | Appearances | Years | Active Streak | Debut | Last | Best Result |
| Air Force | 8 | 1974, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1986, 1990, 1994, 2012 | — | 1974 | 2012 | Semifinals (2012) |
| Arizona† | 3 | 1975, 1976, 1977 | — | 1975 | 1977 | First Round (1975, 1976, 1977) |
| Army† | 1 | 1975 | — | 1975 | 1975 | First Round (1975) |
| Biola | 1 | 2023 | — | 2023 | 2023 | First Round (2023) |
| Brown | 12 | 1977, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 2014 | — | 1977 | 2014 | First Round (1977, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 2014) |
| Bucknell | 8 | 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1985, 2016, 2019, 2020 | — | 1977 | 2020 | First Round (1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1985, 2016, 2019, 2020) |
| Cal State Fullerton | 2 | 1971, 1974 | — | 1971 | 1974 | Semifinals (1971, 1974) |
| California | 33 | 1969, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 | — | 1969 | 2023 | Champions (1973, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1983, 1984, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 2006, 2007, 2016, 2021, 2022, 2023) |
| California Baptist | 2 | 2020, 2024 | — | 2020 | 2024 | First Round (2020, 2024) |
| Claremont–Harvey Mudd | 1 | 2015 | — | 2015 | 2015 | First Round (2015) |
| Colorado State† | 2 | 1969, 1970 | — | 1969 | 1970 | First Round (1969, 1970) |
| Concordia University Irvine (CUI) | 1 | 2025 | 1 (since 2025) |
2025 | 2025 | First Round (2025) |
| Fordham | 5 | 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 | 5 (Since 2021) |
2021 | 2025 | Semifinals (2024, 2025) |
| George Washington | 2 | 2017, 2018 | — | 2017 | 2018 | First Round (2017, 2018) |
| Harvard | 3 | 2016, 2017, 2019 | — | 2016 | 2019 | Semifinals (2016) |
| Little Rock† | 2 | 1988, 1989 | — | 1988 | 1989 | First Round (1988, 1989) |
| Long Beach State | 14 | 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1981, 1983, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1991, 2018, 2021, 2024 | — | 1969 | 2024 | Runner–Up (1981) |
| Loyola Chicago† | 10 | 1972, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985 | — | 1972 | 1985 | First Round (1972, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985) |
| Loyola Marymount | 8 | 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 | — | 2001 | 2010 | Semifinals (2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010) |
| Massachusetts† | 7 | 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2001 | — | 1993 | 2001 | Semifinals (1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2001) |
| Navy | 14 | 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008 | — | 1984 | 2008 | Semifinals (2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008) |
| New Mexico† | 3 | 1971, 1972, 1973 | — | 1971 | 1973 | First Round (1971, 1972, 1973) |
| Pacific | 5 | 1993, 2013, 2017, 2019, 2022 | – | 1993 | 2022 | Runner–Up (2013, 2019) |
| Pepperdine | 13 | 1977, 1978, 1980, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1997, 2019 | — | 1977 | 2019 | Champions (1997) |
| Pittsburgh† | 1 | 1976 | — | 1976 | 1976 | First Round (1976) |
| Pomona–Pitzer | 3 | 2016, 2017, 2018 | — | 2016 | 2018 | First Round (2016, 2017, 2018) |
| Princeton | 11 | 1992, 2004, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 | 5 (since 2021) |
1992 | 2025 | Semifinals (2004, 2009, 2011, 2023) |
| Queens College† | 2 | 1997, 2002 | — | 1997 | 2002 | Semifinals (1997, 2002) |
| Salem (WV) | 1 | 2024 | — | 2024 | 2024 | First Round (2024) |
| San Jose State | 6 | 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 2023, 2025 | 1 (since 2025) |
1970 | 2025 | Runner–Up (1971) |
| Slippery Rock† | 2 | 1983, 1991 | — | 1983 | 1991 | First Round (1983, 1991) |
| Southern California (USC) | 40 | 1969, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 | 21 (since 2005) |
1969 | 2025 | Champions (1998, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2018) |
| St. Francis Brooklyn† | 4 | 2005, 2010, 2012, 2013 | — | 2005 | 2013 | Semifinals (2005, 2010, 2012, 2013) |
| Stanford | 36 | 1970, 1971, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2013, 2014, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2024, 2025 | 2 (since 2024) |
1970 | 2025 | Champions (1976, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1985, 1986, 1993, 1994, 2001, 2002, 2019) |
| Texas A&M† | 2 | 1976, 1978 | — | 1976 | 1978 | First Round (1976, 1978) |
| UC Davis | 10 | 1974, 1975, 1996, 1997, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2025 | 1 (since 2025) |
1974 | 2025 | Semifinals (1996, 1997, 2021) |
| UC Irvine | 22 | 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 2023 | — | 1969 | 2023 | Champions (1970, 1982, 1989) |
| UC San Diego | 15 | 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2006, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018 | — | 1989 | 2018 | Runner–Up (2000) |
| UC Santa Barbara | 12 | 1969, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1985, 1990 | — | 1969 | 1990 | Champions (1979) |
| UCLA | 40 | 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022 2023, 2024, 2025 | 6 (since 2020) |
1969 | 2025 | Champions (1969, 1971, 1972, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2004, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2020, 2024, 2025) |
| Washington† | 1 | 1971 | — | 1971 | 1971 | First Round (1971) |
| Whittier | 2 | 2013, 2014 | — | 2013 | 2014 | First Round (2013, 2014) |
| Yale† | 2 | 1969, 1972 | — | 1969 | 1972 | First Round (1969, 1972) |
| Key: † – Defunct[2] | ||||||
References
- ↑ "2017–18 Pre-Championship Manual // NCAA Men's Water Polo" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
- ↑ "Men's Collegiate Water Polo Programs". Collegiate Water Polo Association. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
- ↑ "National Collegiate Men's Water Polo Championships Records Book" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved 11 August 2018.

