Approved by the coaches and the league membership at the 2009 CWPA Annual Meeting, the Collegiate Water Polo Association Student-Athlete Award honors the outstanding senior student-athlete who has achieved success in both the scholastic (3.25 or higher cumulative grade point average) and athletic arenas while possessing a spirit which provides service to the community.

Each CWPA institution is eligible to nominate a student-athlete (one male/one female) for the award with the recipient being selected based on a points system (1-5) derived from his/her excellence in each field:

• Community Service (Service qualifies for 5 points maximum)
• CWPA Academic Honors (1 point – Member of team All-Academic Award recipient, 2 points - , 3 points – All-Academic Selection, 4 points – Two-time All-Academic Selection, 5 points – Three-Time All-Academic selection)
• Scholastic Achievement (1-5 based on GPA; 1 point (3.25-3.4), 2 points (3.41-3.55), 3 points (3.56-3.70), 4 points (3.71-3.85), 5 points (3.86-4.0)
• All-Conference Selection (1 point – Second Team All-Division, 2 points – First Team All-Division, 3 points – First Team All Division & Division Player of the Year; 4 points – First Team All-Division, Division Player of the Year, 5 points – First Team All-Division & Repeat Division Player of the Year recipient)
• Division Player of the Year Selection (3 points – Player of the Year, 4 points – 2 time Division Player of the Year, 5 points – 3 time Division Player of the Year)

Teams which sponsor men's and women's varsity water polo are eligible to nominate a player in both categories.