1978 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship
{{Short description|Water polo tournament season}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox football tournament season
| title = NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship
| year = 1978
| other_titles =
| image = NCAA 70s logo.svg
| image_size = 140
| caption =
| dates = December 1978
| num_teams = 8
| winners = Stanford (2nd title)
| second = California (6th title game)
| third = UC Irvine
| fourth = Pepperdine
| matches = 12
| goals = 216
| attendance = 2541
| scoring_leader = Scott Schulte, Bucknell (13)
| award =
| prev_season = 1977
| next_season = 1979
}}
The 1978 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship was the 10th 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 1978.{{cite web|title=Men's Water Polo Championship Results |url=http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/m_water_polo_champs_records/2013-14/champs.pdf|work=NCAA|publisher=NCAA.org|accessdate=April 10, 2015}}
Stanford defeated California in the final, 7–6 (in three overtimes), to win their second national title.
For the second consecutive year, the leading scorer for the tournament was Scott Schulte from Bucknell (13 goals). There was no Most Outstanding Player for this tournament, but an All-Tournament Team, consisting of seven players, was named.
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.
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Team
! Appearance ! Previous |
|---|
| Air Force
|2nd |1974 |
| Bucknell
|2nd |1977 |
| California
|6th |1977 |
| Loyola–Chicago
|4th |1977 |
| Pepperdine
|2nd |1977 |
| Stanford
|7th |1977 |
| Texas A&M
|2nd |1976 |
| UC Irvine
|10th |1977 |
Bracket
{{8TeamBracket-Consols
| team-width=150
| RD3=First round
| RD4=Championship semifinals
| RD2=Consolation semifinals
| RD5=Championship
| RD5b=Third place
| RD1=Fifth place
| RD1b=Seventh place
| RD3-seed1= | RD3-team1=Stanford | RD3-score1=20
| RD3-seed2= | RD3-team2=Air Force | RD3-score2=2
| RD3-seed3= | RD3-team3=Pepperdine | RD3-score3=10
| RD3-seed4= | RD3-team4=Bucknell | RD3-score4=9
| RD3-seed5= | RD3-team5=UC Irvine | RD3-score5=14
| RD3-seed6= | RD3-team6=Loyola–Chicago | RD3-score6=5
| RD3-seed7= | RD3-team7=California | RD3-score7=15
| RD3-seed8= | RD3-team8= Texas A&M | RD3-score8=6
| RD4-seed1= | RD4-team1=Stanford | RD4-score1=14
| RD4-seed2= | RD4-team2=Pepperdine | RD4-score2=8
| RD4-seed3= | RD4-team3=UC Irvine | RD4-score3=5
| RD4-seed4= | RD4-team4=California | RD4-score4=7
| RD2-seed1= | RD2-team1=Air Force | RD2-score1=10
| RD2-seed2= | RD2-team2=Bucknell | RD2-score2=12
| RD2-seed3= | RD2-team3=Loyola–Chicago | RD2-score3=12
| RD2-seed4= | RD2-team4=Texas A&M | RD2-score4=5
| RD5-seed1= | RD5-team1=Stanford (3OT) | RD5-score1=7
| RD5-seed2= | RD5-team2=California | RD5-score2=6
| RD5b-seed1= | RD5b-team1=Pepperdine | RD5b-score1=7
| RD5b-seed2= | RD5b-team2=UC Irvine | RD5b-score2=12
| RD1-seed1= | RD1-team1=Bucknell | RD1-score1=6
| RD1-seed2= | RD1-team2=Loyola–Chicago | RD1-score2=7
| RD1b-seed1= | RD1b-team1=Air Force | RD1b-score1=6
| RD1b-seed2= | RD1b-team2=Texas A&M | RD1b-score2=11
}}
All-tournament team
- Rob Arnold, Stanford
- Doug Burke, Stanford
- Peter Campbell, UC Irvine
- John Gansel, Stanford
- Kevin Robertson, California
- Terry Schroeder, Pepperdine
- Carlos Steffens, California
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
{{NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship}}
{{1978–79 NCAA Division I championships navbox}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ncaa Men's Water Polo Championship}}
Category:1978 in American sports
Category:1978 in sports in California