1972 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship


The 1972 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship was the fourth annual NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship to determine the national champion of NCAA men's college water polo. Tournament matches were played at the Armond H. Seidler Natatorium in Albuquerque, New Mexico during December 1972.
UCLA defeated UC Irvine in the final, 10–5, to win their third, and second consecutive, national title.
The leading scorer for the tournament was Jim Kruse from UC Irvine. The Most Outstanding Player of the tournament was Eric Lindroth from UCLA. Additionally, an All-Tournament Team was named for the first time this year.

Qualification

Since there has only ever been one single national championship for water polo, all NCAA men's water polo programs were eligible. A total of 8 teams were invited to contest this championship.
TeamAppearancePrevious
Loyola–Chicago1stNever
New Mexico2nd1971
San José State3rd1971
UC Irvine4th1971
UC Santa Barbara3rd1970
USC3rd1970
UCLA4th1971
Yale2nd1969

Bracket

Consolation Bracket

First team