INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) released updated information for the Winter 2021 Men’s Water Polo Championship.
The postponed 2020 National Collegiate Men’s Water Polo Championship was to be a four-team, single-elimination tournament. Six conferences (Golden Coast Conference, Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference, Northeast Water Polo Conference, Western Water Polo Association, Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) were granted qualification into the bracket or opening-round structure and zero teams were to be selected at large.
However, the Golden Coast Conference, Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) and the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) have subsequently withdrawn their automatic qualification that they were granted into the postponed 2020 National Collegiate Men’s Water Polo Championship. As such, this will now provide for three teams to be selected at large into the postponed 2020 championship to join the champions of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF), Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) and Western Water Polo Association (WWPA).
The top two teams qualify directly into the national championship; the remaining four teams will compete for the last two championship berths via two opening-round games, with the winners earning the remaining berths in the championship bracket.
Opening-round matchups will be determined by the NCAA Men’s Water Polo Committee during the selection process.
Please note that the bracket size may still be reduced for the championship should the number of teams participating in the sport drop below a minimum threshold number 30 days in advance of the championship.
Additional information:
- Teams shall be selected by the Men’s Water Polo Committee on March 7.
- Opening Round Games – The following parameters will be applied for the opening-round games:
- Based on rankings and geographic proximity, the committee will determine the pairings of the teams that will participate in the opening-round games, and which teams will serve as the hosts.
- The opening-round games will be contested Thursday, March 18, at times to be determined. The location(s) will be determined by the committee. It has been determined at this time that for the postponed 2020 National Collegiate Men’s Water Polo Championship, Stanford University will host both of these opening-round games.
- Championship Semifinals/Final
- The semifinals will be conducted on Saturday, March 20, at Stanford University at 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.
- The National Championship game will take place on Sunday, March 21, at Stanford. Game time is set for 5:00 p.m.
- The semifinals and championship are slated to be streamed on NCAA.com
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