University of Florida to Host 2009 Men's National Collegiate Club Championship on November 13-15

BRIDGEPORT, Pa. -- The Collegiate Water Polo Association has announced the selection of the University of Florida as the host for the 2009 Men's National Collegiate Club Championship on November 13-15.

It marks the second time Florida will serve as host of a National Collegiate Club Championship in the past nine years as the men's tournament was held in Gainesville during the 2001 season.  The state of Florida has never served as host of the Women's National Collegiate Club Championship.

The tournament is not seeded by ability, since there is no equitable means to determine the respective strength of the teams. Too few teams play outside of their division schedules to be able to create an accurate seeding, so match-ups are based upon the 2008 National Collegiate Club Championship results by division. The host division (Florida) receives two automatic bids, one of which is assumed by the division champion and the other by the host site or division runner-up (the 16th position). This ensures the tournament host is always a participant.

Due to the Big 10 Division winning the 2008 title at Miami University of Ohio, the Big 10 champion will enter the tournament as the No. 1 seed, while the Pacific Coast, Southwest, Florida and Great Lakes Division champions will round out the Top Five seeds at No. 2-5, respectively, of the 16-team field.

The remainder of the Top 10 is rounded out by the Northwest, Missouri Valley, New England, Texas and Mid-Atlantic Division champions, while the Atlantic Division, Rocky Mountain, New York, Southest and Great Plains Division winners account for No. 11 through 15.

Hotel information and other details of the championship will be released during the summer.