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.
NCAA Men's Water Polo ChampionshipSchoolAppearancesYearsActive StreakDebutLastBest 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 Baptist22020, 2024—20202024First 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)Fordham52021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 20255(Since 2021)20212025 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
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