Football tournament season
 | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | December 1971 |
| Teams | 8 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | UCLA (2nd title) |
| Runner-up | San José State (1st title game) |
| Third place | Cal State Fullerton |
| Fourth place | Long Beach State |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 12 |
| Goals scored | 200 (16.67 per match) |
| Top goal scorer(s) | Jim Waska, CSUF (14) |
| ← 19701972 → | |
The 1971 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship was the third 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 1971.
UCLA defeated San José State in the final, 5–3, to win their second national title.
The leading scorer for the tournament was Jim Waska from Cal State Fullerton (14 goals). The awards for All-Tournament Team and Most Outstanding Player were not given out until 1972.
Qualification
Since there has only ever been one single national championship for water polo, all NCAA men's water polo programs (whether from Division I, Division II, or Division III) were eligible. A total of 8 teams were invited to contest this championship.
| Team | Appearance | Previous |
|---|---|---|
| Cal State Fullerton | 1st | Never |
| Long Beach State | 3rd | 1970 |
| New Mexico | 1st | Never |
| San José State | 2nd | 1970 |
| Stanford | 2nd | 1970 |
| UC Irvine | 3rd | 1970 |
| UCLA | 3rd | 1970 |
| Washington | 1st | Never |
Bracket
| Fifth place | Consolation semifinals | First round | Championship semifinals | Championship | |||||||||||||||||||
| UCLA | 37 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Washington | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Washington | 4 | UCLA | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| New Mexico | 13 | Long Beach State | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Long Beach State | 13 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| New Mexico | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| New Mexico | 3 | UCLA | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Stanford | 5 | San José State | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Cal State Fullerton | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| UC Irvine | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Seventh place | UC Irvine | 7 | Cal State Fullerton | 9 | Third place | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stanford | 8 | San José State | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Washington | 5 | San José State | 10 | Long Beach State | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||
| UC Irvine | 18 | Stanford | 4 | Cal State Fullerton | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||
See also
References
- "Men's Water Polo Championship Results" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
| NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship | |
|---|---|
| Tournaments | |
| Statistics | |
| 1971–72 NCAA University Division championships | |
|---|---|
| Until 1981–82, all championships for men only |