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)
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 6 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1985, 2016, 2019, 2020 — 1977 2019 First Round (1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1985, 2016, 2019)
Cal State Fullerton† 2 1971, 1974 — 1971 1974 Semifinals (1971, 1974)
California Baptist 1 2020 — 2020 2020 First Round (2020)
California 29 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 2

(since 2020)

1969 2021 Champions (1973, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1983, 1984, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 2006, 2007, 2016, 2021)
Claremont–Harvey Mudd 1 2015 — 2015 2015 First Round (2015)
Colorado State† 2 1969, 1970 — 1969 1970 First Round (1969, 1970)
Fordham 1 2021 — 2021 2021 First Round (2021)
George Washington 2 2017, 2018 2
(since 2017) 		2017 2018 First Round (2017, 2018)
Harvard 2 2016, 2017, 2019 – 2016 2019 Semifinals (2016)
Long Beach State 12 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1981, 1983, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1991, 2018, 2021 1
(since 2021) 		1969 2021 Runner–Up (1981)
Loyola (IL)† 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 3 1993, 2013, 2017, 2019 – 1993 2019 Runner–Up (2013, 2019)
Pepperdine 12 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 3
(since 2016) 		2016 2018 First Round (2016, 2017, 2018)
Princeton 6 1992, 2004, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2018, 2021 1
(since 2021) 		1992 2021 Semifinals (2004, 2009, 2011)
Queens College† 2 1997, 2002 — 1997 2002 Semifinals (1997, 2002)
San Jose State 4 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973 — 1970 1973 Runner–Up (1971)
Slippery Rock† 2 1983, 1991 — 1983 1991 First Round (1983, 1991)
USC 33 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 17
(since 2005) 		1969 2021 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 32 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 — 1970 2020 Champions (1976, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1985, 1986, 1993, 1994, 2001, 2002, 2019)
Texas A&M† 2 1976, 1978 — 1976 1978 First Round (1976, 1978)
UALR† 2 1988, 1989 — 1988 1989 First Round (1988, 1989)
UC Davis 6 1974, 1975, 1996, 1997, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2021 1

(since 2021)

1974 2021 Semifinals (1996, 1997, 2021)
UC Irvine 21 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993 — 1969 1993 Champions (1970, 1982, 1989)
UC San Diego 15 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2006, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018 1
(since 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 38 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, 2023, 2024 2
(since 2023) 		1969 2023 Champions (1969, 1971, 1972, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2004, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2020, 2024)
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]

[3]

References

  1. ^ "2017–18 Pre-Championship Manual // NCAA Men's Water Polo" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  2. ^ "Men's Collegiate Water Polo Programs". Collegiate Water Polo Association. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
  3. ^ "National Collegiate Men's Water Polo Championships Records Book" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved 11 August 2018.