BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — The Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) league office has been informed of the decision by Lindenwood University to reconfigure several Student Life Sports, including the institution’s collegiate club programs in men’s and women’s water polo, into student-run programs.
In men’s competition, the reigning National Champion Lions have captured five-time Men’s National Collegiate Club titles (2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019) to tie California Polytechnic State University (1999, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2007) for the most crowns in the history of men’s club water polo. The 2013 Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship runner-up, Lindenwood stands as the only program to claim both the National Collegiate Club and Division III Collegiate Club crowns as the Lions took home three Division III titles (2006 vs. Wesleyan University, 2007 vs. Grinnell College, 2008 vs. New York University) prior to moving up into the ranks of National Collegiate Club Championship eligible programs. The eight National Championships are the most by any program in the history of club water polo (men’s or women’s) besting the seven Women’s National Collegiate Club titles held by Cal Poly as the Lions rate as the most successful club water polo program in the history of the sport.
A 13-time Missouri Valley Division champion (2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019) and five-time runner-up (2007, 2011, 2014, 2018, 2019) as the Lindenwood “B” team finished second to the school’s “A” squad in 2014, 2018 and 2019, the Lions appeared in four consecutive National Championship games in falling to the University of California-Los Angeles in 2013 (20-15 L) before downing San Diego State University in 2014 (13-8 W) and again in 2015 (10-9 W) and Long Beach State University in 2016 (9-5 W). In 2018, Lindenwood upended the University of Utah (14-11 W) to capture the National Championship.
During the 2019 season, the Lions again made history by becoming the first time to win back-to-back National Championships multiple times as Lindenwood clipped the University of Southern California (USC), 9-5. The consecutive titles marked the fourth time a men’s club team won two-or-more consecutive championships as Cal Poly (2001, 2002), UCLA (2009, 2010), USC (2011, 2012) and a prior back-to-back-to-back historic run by the Lions (2014, 2015, 2016) were the other programs to achieve the milestone.
Historically, Lindenwood has recorded runs of 15 consecutive division title game appearances, 13 Missouri Valley Division Championships, eight consecutive Missouri Valley Division titles and 14 National Collegiate Club/Division III Championship appearances in 15 years (2005, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2015, 2017, 2018 2019) come to a conclusion.
In women’s competition, the Lindenwood women’s club team has claimed seven division crowns and a pair of runner-up finishes in the Heartland and Midwest Divisions. A five-time Heartland Division Champion (2007, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013) and the group’s 2009 runner-up, the Lions moved over to the Midwest Division and notched a runner-up mark in 2015 prior to collecting back-to-back titles in 2018 and 2019 to stand on the precipice of equaling the success of the men’s program.
NOTE: Based on information supplied to the league staff, the original version of the release stated Lindenwood eliminated the men’s and women’s water polo programs. However, the school did not eliminate any club sports. The teams retain the opportunity to compete under the Lindenwood name. The club sports unit was reorganized as the programs are now similar to a majority of other institutions in which the program is managed entirely by the students.
