About the Team

The Water Polo program is not yet an NCAA sport at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. This often creates confusion but it should be noted that we are not in the athletics program at Cal Poly. We are part of the Sport Clubs Program and we play under the Collegiate Water Polo Association. The team is therefore run by its own players forming a group of officers that manage almost all aspects of the team.

The team is not funded by the school so they must find other means of bringing in money to the program. The team performs a lot of fundraising activities, and are always accepting donations and sponsorships. Every participant must also pay a team fee which covers team suits and equipment. Sometimes the team does receive grants from the state, but it is usually only enough to pay for referees, tournament fees, and the coach's salary.

History

Although the team is not an NCAA sport the players treat it as if it were. On the verge of becoming a varsity sport, the Cal Poly Men's Water Polo team has won the CWPA National title four times in the last five years. The first was in 1999 in Arizona. In 2000, the team placed 3rd in Washington. Then in 2001 they came back strong and reclaimed their title in Florida. They made history in 2002 by being the first team in CWPA history to win two consecutive National Titles and to win a National Title at their home pool in San Luis Obispo, California. In 2004, they came back to reclaim their title at Notre Dame.