Ten teams, two regions that never play each other until October, eight games apiece and a 15-game championship weekend at Maryland. Here is the full CWPA Men’s Collegiate Club Atlantic Division schedule.
Table of Contents
- How the Atlantic Division works in 2026
- North region, September 19 and 20 at Maryland
- South region, September 19 and 20 at James Madison
- North region, September 26 and 27 at Navy
- South region, October 3 and 4 at NC State
- Atlantic Division Championship, October 24 and 25
- How the bracket works
- National Collegiate Club Championship
- Games to circle in 2026
- Atlantic Division 2026 FAQ
- Dig deeper
Times are as the CWPA lists them, local to the host pool. The team listed first wears dark caps and is the home team on the scoreboard.
How the Atlantic Division works in 2026
This is the biggest club water polo division on the East Coast, and it is too big for its own format. The CWPA’s note says it plainly: no school had the pool time to host a crossover weekend with all ten teams. So the division splits.
North region: Georgetown, George Washington, Navy, Maryland, Virginia South region: Duke, James Madison, NC State, North Carolina, Virginia Tech
Each region plays a double round robin inside itself. Two weekends, ten games a weekend, eight games per team, 40 in all. Nobody from the North plays anybody from the South until the championship. Virginia sits in the North, which the league explains as a geography call: the Cavaliers were the closest team to the southern group that was not hosting.
That placement matters more than it sounds. Virginia won the division last year, and because the defending champion is in the North, the league has awarded the No. 1 championship seed to the North region’s regular season winner rather than deciding it across regions. Win the North, get the top seed.
This is club water polo, not NCAA water polo. Dues, fundraisers, carpools and pool time booked around everybody else.
North region, September 19 and 20 at Maryland
A complete round robin in two days. This weekend’s schedule was revised on August 24, so double check before you drive.
| Matchup (dark vs. white) | Date | Time |
| George Washington vs Virginia | Sep 19 | 12:20 |
| Maryland vs Navy | Sep 19 | 1:30 |
| Georgetown vs Virginia | Sep 19 | 2:35 |
| Maryland vs George Washington | Sep 19 | 3:45 |
| Georgetown vs Navy | Sep 19 | 4:50 |
| Navy vs Virginia | Sep 20 | 10:30 AM |
| George Washington vs Georgetown | Sep 20 | 11:40 AM |
| Maryland vs Virginia | Sep 20 | 12:50 |
| George Washington vs Navy | Sep 20 | 2:00 |
| Maryland vs Georgetown | Sep 20 | 3:10 |
All 10 games at the University of Maryland, College Park.
South region, September 19 and 20 at James Madison
Seven games on Saturday, running from 1:00 in the afternoon to 8:00 at night, then three on Sunday.
| Matchup (dark vs. white) | Date | Time |
| James Madison vs NC State | Sep 19 | 1:00 |
| Virginia Tech vs Duke | Sep 19 | 2:10 |
| North Carolina vs NC State | Sep 19 | 3:20 |
| James Madison vs Duke | Sep 19 | 4:30 |
| NC State vs Virginia Tech | Sep 19 | 5:40 |
| James Madison vs North Carolina | Sep 19 | 6:50 |
| North Carolina vs Virginia Tech | Sep 19 | 8:00 |
| NC State vs Duke | Sep 20 | 1:30 |
| James Madison vs Virginia Tech | Sep 20 | 2:40 |
| North Carolina vs Duke | Sep 20 | 3:50 |
All 10 games at James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Va.
North region, September 26 and 27 at Navy
The same ten matchups again, a week later, in Annapolis.
| Matchup (dark vs. white) | Date | Time |
| Navy vs Georgetown | Sep 26 | 11:00 AM |
| Virginia vs Maryland | Sep 26 | 12:10 |
| Navy vs George Washington | Sep 26 | 1:20 |
| Georgetown vs Maryland | Sep 26 | 2:30 |
| Virginia vs George Washington | Sep 26 | 3:40 |
| Georgetown vs George Washington | Sep 27 | 9:00 AM |
| Navy vs Virginia | Sep 27 | 10:10 AM |
| George Washington vs Maryland | Sep 27 | 11:20 AM |
| Virginia vs Georgetown | Sep 27 | 12:30 |
| Navy vs Maryland | Sep 27 | 1:40 |
All 10 games at the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md.
The composite lists the Virginia-Maryland game at 12:10 a.m. It means 12:10 in the afternoon.
South region, October 3 and 4 at NC State
Two weeks after their first weekend, the southern five reconvene in Raleigh to finish the double round robin.
| Matchup (dark vs. white) | Date | Time |
| North Carolina vs Duke | Oct 3 | 1:00 |
| NC State vs Virginia Tech | Oct 3 | 2:20 |
| James Madison vs North Carolina | Oct 3 | 3:30 |
| Virginia Tech vs Duke | Oct 3 | 4:40 |
| NC State vs James Madison | Oct 3 | 5:50 |
| James Madison vs Duke | Oct 4 | 10:30 AM |
| North Carolina vs Virginia Tech | Oct 4 | 11:40 AM |
| NC State vs Duke | Oct 4 | 12:50 |
| James Madison vs Virginia Tech | Oct 4 | 2:00 |
| NC State vs North Carolina | Oct 4 | 3:10 |
All 10 games at North Carolina State University, Raleigh.
The CWPA page reports 43 entries where 40 games are listed. The 40 that are there form a complete double round robin in both regions, with every team at eight games, so the count is likely a leftover from the August 24 revision.
Atlantic Division Championship, October 24 and 25
At Maryland, in College Park. Fifteen games, three brackets, and the first cross-region water of the season.
| Matchup | Date | Time |
| 1st seed vs 5th seed | Oct 24 | 10:10 AM |
| 2nd seed vs 6th seed | Oct 24 | 11:10 AM |
| 4th seed vs 5th seed | Oct 24 | 12:10 |
| 3rd seed vs 6th seed | Oct 24 | 1:05 |
| 1st seed vs 4th seed | Oct 24 | 2:05 |
| 2nd seed vs 3rd seed | Oct 24 | 3:05 |
| 7th seed vs 10th seed | Oct 24 | 4:00 |
| 8th seed vs 9th seed | Oct 24 | 5:00 |
| 7th seed vs 9th seed | Oct 25 | 10:20 AM |
| 8th seed vs 10th seed | Oct 25 | 11:20 AM |
| Fifth place: 3rd in Bracket A vs 3rd in Bracket B | Oct 25 | 12:20 |
| 9th seed vs 10th seed | Oct 25 | 1:20 |
| 7th seed vs 8th seed | Oct 25 | 2:20 |
| Third place: 2nd in Bracket B vs 2nd in Bracket A | Oct 25 | 3:20 |
| First place: 1st in Bracket A vs 1st in Bracket B | Oct 25 | 4:30 |
How the bracket works
The top three from each region go into the title brackets. The bottom two from each region drop into a four-team round robin for seventh through tenth.
- Bracket A: 1st seed (North 1), 4th seed (South 2), 5th seed (North 3)
- Bracket B: 2nd seed (South 1), 3rd seed (North 2), 6th seed (South 3)
- Bracket C: 7th (North 4), 8th (South 4), 9th (North 5), 10th (South 5), round robin for seventh to tenth
Brackets A and B each play a three-team round robin on Saturday, then cross over on Sunday by finishing position: winners for the title, runners-up for third, third-place teams for fifth.
One more rule worth knowing before you plan your Sunday: every game except the final uses six-minute quarters with sudden death overtime, and teams get one timeout per half. Only the championship game is played at full length.
National Collegiate Club Championship
The division winner advances to the Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship, a 16-team, 30-game event over a Friday-to-Sunday in November. The Mid-Atlantic Division hosts in 2026, with the site and dates still to come.
Last year’s Atlantic champion never made it. Virginia won the division, then told the league office on November 5 that it would not compete at nationals. The open spot went out to the surrounding divisions, Navy could not commit pending government approval, and it went instead to Virginia Tech, the Atlantic’s third-place finisher. Worth remembering when you look at the bracket: at this level, third place is sometimes a ticket.
Games to circle in 2026
- North Carolina vs Duke, September 20 at 3:50 and October 3 at 1:00. Tobacco Road in a pool, twice, at two different schools’ facilities.
- Georgetown vs George Washington, September 20 at 11:40 and September 27 at 9:00. The DC series, twice, the second one before breakfast.
- Maryland vs Navy, September 19 at 1:30 and September 27 at 1:40. Both weekends, both close to the same time of day, an hour apart on I-97.
- Virginia vs Virginia Tech. Not on this schedule at all. Different regions, no crossover weekend, so the only way these two meet is at the championship in College Park.
- Saturday, September 19 at James Madison. Seven games between 1:00 and 8:00, with North Carolina, NC State, Duke, Virginia Tech and the hosts all in the water.
- Championship Sunday, October 25 at 4:30. One game for the division’s place at nationals, and the only full-length game of the weekend.
Atlantic Division 2026 FAQ
Is this NCAA water polo? No. This is the CWPA’s Men’s Collegiate Club competition, funded largely by the players themselves.
Which teams are in the division? Ten. North: Georgetown, George Washington, Navy, Maryland, Virginia. South: Duke, James Madison, NC State, North Carolina, Virginia Tech.
Why is the division split into regions? No school could host a weekend with all ten teams in the pool, so the CWPA split the group and had each half play a double round robin internally.
How many games does each team play? Eight in the regular season, four each weekend, plus at least two more at the championship.
Who gets the No. 1 seed? The North region’s regular season winner, a decision the league made because defending division champion Virginia competes in that region.
Where is the championship? Maryland, in College Park, October 24 and 25.
What does the winner get? The division’s berth in the Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship in November.
Dig deeper
- Back a player. Club athletes do not show up in athletic department programs, which is exactly where fan support does the most work
- Know the market. Brand partnerships for college water polo athletes
- Small programs, real money. The small program NIL playbook
- Read the other divisions. The 2026 Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Missouri Valley and Florida division schedules
- Find your school. Every college with a water polo program on the platform
Times as listed and subject to change. Schedule from the CWPA Atlantic Division composite, which was revised on August 24.
