The Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) is a single sport college athletic conference sponsoring men's and women's water polo. The WWPA is affiliated with the NCAA, and includes 15 member institutions, mostly in California, with one institution each in Illinois, and West Virginia and two in Erie, Pennsylvania. The league has five teams in its men's league and nine in its women's league, with only Fresno Pacific and UC San Diego fielding teams for both sexes in the WWPA. The three easternmost schools, Gannon, Mercyhurst, and Salem, also field teams for both men and women, but only the women's teams are in the WWPA, with the men's teams instead playing in the Collegiate Water Polo Association.
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| Association | NCAA |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1981 |
| Commissioner | Christy Medigovich (since 2013) |
| Sports fielded |
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| Division | National Collegiate |
| No. of teams | 11 |
| Region | Western United States, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia |
| Official website | thewwpa.com |
The WWPA members play a regular season of conference and non-conference games, followed by a championship tournament at the conclusion of both the men's and women's seasons, with the winner earning the league's automatic bid to the NCAAs.[1]
Members
editNCAA water polo is a fall sport for men and a spring sport for women. For women's members, the year of joining is the calendar year before the first season of competition. For men's members, the year of departure is the calendar year after the final season of competition.
Men's teams
edit| Institution | Location | Nickname | Joined | Primary Conference |
Division |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Biola University | La Mirada, California | Eagles | 2022 | Pacific West | NCAA D-II |
| Concordia University–Irvine | Irvine, California | Eagles | 2016 | Pacific West | NCAA D-II |
| Fresno Pacific University | Fresno, California | Sunbirds | 2014 | Pacific West | NCAA D-II |
| Gannon University | Erie, Pennsylvania | Golden Knights | 2023 | Pennsylvania State | NCAA D-II |
| McKendree University | Lebanon, Illinois | Bearcats | 2023 | Great Lakes Valley | NCAA D-II |
| Mercyhurst University | Erie, Pennsylvania | Lakers | 2023 | Northeast | NCAA D-I |
| Salem University | Salem, West Virginia | Tigers | 2023 | Independent | NCAA D-II |
Women's teams
editFormer members
edit| Institution | Location | Nickname | Joined | Left | Primary Conference |
Division | (M) | (W) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States Air Force Academy | Colorado Springs, Colorado | Falcons | 1981 | 2023 | Mountain West | NCAA D-I | 
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| California Baptist University | Riverside, California | Lancers | 2013 | 2023 | WAC | NCAA D-I |
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| University of California, Davis (UC Davis) |
Davis, California | Aggies | 1981 | 2023 | Big West | NCAA D-I |
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| University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego) |
San Diego, California | Tritons | 1981 | 2023 | Big West | NCAA D-I |
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| University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego) |
San Diego, California | Tritons | 2015 | 2020 | Big West | NCAA D-I |
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| Loyola Marymount University | Los Angeles, California | Lions | 1987 | 2023 | West Coast | NCAA D-I |
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| Santa Clara University | Santa Clara, California | Broncos | 1981 | 2023 | West Coast | NCAA D-I |
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| Sonoma State University[2] | Rohnert Park | Seawolves | 2015 | 2020 | CCAA | NCAA D-II |
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References
edit- ^ "The WWPA". Western Water Polo Association. Retrieved June 4, 2011.
- ^ "SSU to discontinue men's and women's tennis and water polo teams". Retrieved 2023-11-05.
External links
edit
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