1980 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 = 1980
| other_titles =
| image = NCAA logo.svg
| image_size = 140
| caption =
| dates = December 1980
| num_teams = 8
| winners = Stanford (3rd title)
| second = California (7th title game)
| third = UC Irvine
| fourth = Pepperdine
| matches = 12
| goals = 214
| attendance = 2401
| scoring_leader = Kevin Robertson, California & Scott Schulte, Bucknell (11)
| award = John Gansel, Stanford & Kevin Robertson, California
| prev_season = 1979
| next_season = 1981
}}
The 1980 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship was the 12th 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 1980.{{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 12, 2015}}
Stanford defeated California in the final, 8–6, to win their third national title.
John Gansel (Stanford) and Kevin Robertson (California) were named the Co-Most Outstanding Players of the tournament. An All-Tournament Team, consisting of nine players, was also named.
Robertson and Scott Schulte (Bucknell) were the tournament's leading scorers (12 goals). Schulte is the only men's water polo player to be the leading scorer in four consecutive tournaments (1977–1980).
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 |
|---|
| Bucknell
|4th |1979 |
| California
|8th |1979 |
| Loyola–Chicago
|6th |1979 |
| Pepperdine
|3rd |1978 |
| USC
|5th |1973 |
| Stanford
|8th |1979 |
| UC Irvine
|11th |1978 |
| UC Santa Barbara
|8th |1979 |
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=22
| RD3-seed2= | RD3-team2=Loyola–Chicago | RD3-score2=5
| RD3-seed3= | RD3-team3=Pepperdine | RD3-score3=9
| RD3-seed4= | RD3-team4=USC | RD3-score4=8
| RD3-seed5= | RD3-team5=UC Irvine | RD3-score5=13
| RD3-seed6= | RD3-team6=Bucknell | RD3-score6=4
| RD3-seed7= | RD3-team7=California | RD3-score7=11
| RD3-seed8= | RD3-team8= UC Santa Barbara | RD3-score8=7
| RD4-seed1= | RD4-team1=Stanford | RD4-score1=17
| RD4-seed2= | RD4-team2=Pepperdine | RD4-score2=6
| RD4-seed3= | RD4-team3=UC Irvine | RD4-score3=7
| RD4-seed4= | RD4-team4=California | RD4-score4=9
| RD2-seed1= | RD2-team1=Loyola–Chicago | RD2-score1=3
| RD2-seed2= | RD2-team2=USC | RD2-score2=16
| RD2-seed3= | RD2-team3=Bucknell | RD2-score3=8
| RD2-seed4= | RD2-team4=UC Santa Barbara | RD2-score4=10
| RD5-seed1= | RD5-team1=Stanford | RD5-score1=8
| RD5-seed2= | RD5-team2=California | RD5-score2=6
| RD5b-seed1= | RD5b-team1=Pepperdine | RD5b-score1=8
| RD5b-seed2= | RD5b-team2=UC Irvine | RD5b-score2=10
| RD1-seed1= | RD1-team1=USC | RD1-score1=11
| RD1-seed2= | RD1-team2=UC Santa Barbara | RD1-score2=4
| RD1b-seed1= | RD1b-team1=Loyola–Chicago | RD1b-score1=4
| RD1b-seed2= | RD1b-team2=Bucknell | RD1b-score2=8
}}
All-tournament team
- John Gansel, Stanford (Co-Most outstanding player)
- Kevin Robertson, California (Co-Most outstanding player)
- James Bergeson, Stanford
- Jody Campbell, Stanford
- Peter Campbell, UC Irvine
- Bob Diepersloot, California
- Chris Kelsey, Stanford
- Alan Mouchawar, Stanford
- Terry Schroeder, Pepperdine
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
{{NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship}}
{{1980–81 NCAA Division I championships navbox}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ncaa Men's Water Polo Championship}}
Category:1980 in American sports
Category:1980 in sports in California