BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — Connecticut College head men’s and women’s water polo coach Matt Anderson was appointed to a four-year term on the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Women’s Water Polo Committee starting in August 2025 and running until August 2029.
Anderson joins committee chairman/Harvard University head men’s and women’s water polo coach Ted Minnis, California State University-Fresno head women’s water polo coach Natalie Benson, Gannon University Director of Athletics Megan Morphy and University of California-Irvine Senior Associate Director of Athletics/Senior Woman Administrator Erica Monteabaro and NCAA Secretary-Rules Editor/ex-officio member David Alberstein on the six member group. He replaces University of Redlands Associate Director of Athletics Rachel Johnson Roche.
The committee is comprised of three members from Division I (Minnis, Benson Montebabaro), one from Division II (Morphy), one from Division III (Anderson) and the sport’s secretary-rules editor (Alberstein) with a requirement of two institution administrators (Morphy, Monteabaro) among the six members.
Anderson will serve a four-year term running from August 2025-to-August 2029, while Minnis (August 2027), Monteabaro (August 2027), Morphy (August 2028) and Benson (August 2028) will conclude their terms over the next three years.
Beginning his 11th year as the head coach of the men’s and women’s water polo teams at Connecticut College since being appointed in the Fall of 2014, Anderson has made an impact on both programs and has brought them to new heights. The women’s team has advanced to the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Championship match three times, capturing the league crown twice in 2015 and 2017, while the men’s program has set school records for most wins in a four-year span three consecutive times.
Prior to his arrival at Connecticut College, Anderson served as the head coach of the women’s water polo program at the University of Michigan for 12 years (2003-2014). He led the Wolverines to four NCAA Tournament appearances and was named the CWPA Western Division Coach of the Year six times. The program also racked up 332 wins and 10 division titles while producing 27 All-America selections, including USA Olympic goalie Betsy Armstrong, during his tenure.
Anderson’s success as a coach, which included stints at his alma mater, San Jose State University, and Indiana University, extends beyond the college level. His experiences include 11 years of coaching high school programs in California. On the scholastic level, he was the head coach of boys and girls water polo and swimming at Santa Clara High School, Newbury Park High School, and Los Gatos High School. At the national level, Anderson was an assistant coach for United States Men’s Water Polo for the national junior, youth, and cadet team between 1999 and 2009. In addition, he won a silver medal at the 2011 World University Games as the head coach of the United States Women’s Senior National B Team. The veteran mentor served as the head coach of the United States Women’s National B Team from 2010-12.
Anderson has also been heavily involved with the sport at the national administrative level as a past member/char of the NCAA Water Polo Rules Committee in addition to prior tenures on the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Water Polo Committees. He chaired the NCAA Men’s Water Polo Championship Committee beginning in the 2018-19 academic year after previously serving as the chair of the NCAA Women’s Water Polo Championship Committee. Anderson is the only person to have served as the chair for all three of the NCAA’s water polo committees.
A 1991 graduate of San Jose State and native of San Diego, Anderson also teaches physical education classes at Connecticut College. He currently resides with his wife, Tara, son, Everett, and daughter, Eden.
