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.

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.

• Site: Belmont Plaza Pool, Long Beach, California

• 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

• NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship