BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — The road to the 2026 USA Water Polo Division III Championship for two teams will go through Norton, Mass., as Wheaton College (Mass.) hosts the 15-game Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III Championship on Friday-Sunday, April 10-12, at the Balfour Natatorium.
Seeded based on the results of 36 regular season games among Augustana College, Austin College, Carthage College, Connecticut College, Grove City College, Macalester College, Penn State Behrend, Washington & Jefferson College and the host Lyons, the 2026 championship marks the 16th CWPA Division III tournament as the 2020 season was cancelled in March 2020 due to the outbreak of COVID-19.
The victor and runner-up from the CWPA Division III Championship earn berths – along with the champion and runner-up from the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) – to the USA Water Polo Division III Championship hosted by the SCIAC champion on Saturday-Sunday, April 25-26.
About the Field:
- Regular season champion and three-time (2025, 2024, 2023) defending CWPA Division III Champion Augustana College holds the No. 1 position in the field after posting an 8-0 mark in league competition. Three-time (2019, 2018, 2017) CWPA Champion Macalester College (7-1), Washington & Jefferson College (5-3), Carthage College (5-3), two-time (2022, 2021) champion Austin College (4-4), three-time (2012, 2011, 2010) champion Grove City College (3-5), four-time (2016, 2015, 2014, 2013) champion Connecticut College (2-6), Penn State Behrend (2-6) and Wheaton (0-8) complete the nine-team field.
Video Streaming:
- Free streaming of the 15-game 2026 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Divsiion III is provided by Wheaton College with coverage available at www.newmacsportsnetwork.com/wheaton.
Live Statistics:
- Wheaton College will also supply live statistics for each game on the TheFOSH.net
Tickets:
- Fans attending the CWPA Division III Championship can pay for either a three-day tournament pass ($35) or a one-day pass ($15). Wheaton College students, faculty and staff with a valid college ID, and senior citizens 65 and older, will be admitted at discounted prices of $10 (tournament pass) and $5 (one-day pass). All children 12 and under are free of charge. All tickets are exclusively available at the door as there will be no presale in advance of the championship.
Champion History of the CWPA Division III Championship:
- 2025 (at Augustana College): Augustana College def. Washington & Jefferson College, 10-7
- 2024 (at Connecticut College): Augustana College def. Austin College, 14-10
- 2023 (at Macalester College): Augustana College def. Austin College, 16-8
- 2022 (at Grove City College): Austin College def. Augustana College, 18-7
- 2021 (at Carthage College): Austin College def. Wittenberg University, 20-6 (NOTE: 4 team field due to COVID-19)
- 2020 (at Carthage College); SEASON CANCELED/No competition/COVID-19
- 2019 (at Connecticut College): Macalester College def. Austin College, 8-5
- 2018 (at Hallman Aquatics Center/Penn State Behrend): Macalester College def. Connecticut College, 13-12 OT
- 2017 (at Macalester College): Macalester College def. Washington & Jefferson College, 10-9 OT
- 2016 (at Connecticut College): Connecticut College def. Washington & Jefferson College, 13-9
- 2015 (at Grove City College): Connecticut College def. Washington & Jefferson College, 13-10
- 2014 (at Macalester College): Connecticut College def. Washington & Jefferson College, 7-3
- 2013 (at Connecticut College): Connecticut College def. Grove City College, 6-3
- 2012 (at Grove City College): Grove City College def. Washington & Jefferson College, 10-3
- 2011 (at Macalester College): Grove City College def. Washington & Jefferson College, 7-2
- 2010 (at Utica University); Grove City College def. Carthage College, 8-7
About Wheaton College: Wheaton College was founded in 1834 as a female seminary and chartered as a four-year liberal arts college in 1912. The college became coeducational in 1988, and its Phi Beta Kappa chapter was established in 1932.
Put a Ring On It: It the name of Wheaton’s pool “rings” a bell, it should for anyone familiar with championships. Located in Haas Athletic Center, the eight-lane, 40-meter pool and natatorium opened in 1991. The facility is named for Lloyd G. and Mildred Balfour, the founders of the Attleboro-originated Balfour Co., maker of class/championship rings and long-time friends of the college. Balfour-Hood Campus Center is also named in their honor, and a large tract of woods adjoining the southern end of the campus was the gift of the Balfours.
