Dates December 1996 Champions UCLA (5th title) Matches played 4 | Teams 4 Runners-up USC (5th title game) Goals scored 84 (21 per match) | |
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The 1996 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship was the 28th annual tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA men's collegiate water polo. Tournament matches were played at Canyonview Pool in La Jolla, San Diego, California during December 1996.
Contents
UCLA defeated USC in the final, 8–7, to win their fifth national title. The Bruins (24–6) were coached by Guy Baker.
The Most Outstanding Player of the tournament was Matt Swanson from UCLA. Swanson, along with seven other players, comprised the All-Tournament Team.
The tournament's leading scorers, with 5 goals each, were Hrvoje Cismic (USC), Brian Stahl (Massachusetts), and Marko Zagar (USC).
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 4 teams were invited to contest this championship.