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.
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.
Qualification 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.
Team Appearance PreviousArizona2nd1975Loyola–Chicago2nd1972Pittsburgh1stNeverStanford5th1975Texas A&M1stNeverUC Irvine8th1975UC Santa Barbara6th1974UCLA8th1975
Bracket Site: Belmont Plaza Pool, Long Beach, California
All-tournament team 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
See also NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship
References