1976 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship


The 1976 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship was the eighth 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 Belmont Plaza Pool in Long Beach, California during December 1976.
Stanford defeated UCLA in the final, 13–12, to win their first national title.
The leading scorer for the tournament was Dave Breen from Arizona. Chris Dorst, from Stanford, was named the Most Outstanding Player. An All-Tournament Team, consisting of seven players, was also named.

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
Arizona2nd1975
Loyola–Chicago2nd1972
Pittsburgh1stNever
Stanford5th1975
Texas A&M1stNever
UC Irvine8th1975
UC Santa Barbara6th1974
UCLA8th1975

Bracket