LA MIRADA, Calif. --- On Tuesday, July 2 the President's Cabinet at Biola University approved a proposal for the athletic department to sponsor both men and women's water polo beginning with the 2021-22 school year.

Biola will play its home matches right across La Mirada Blvd. at the SPLASH! Aquatic Center, which is owned and operated by the City of La Mirada. Men's Water Polo is a fall sport, running September through November. Women's Water Polo is a spring sport, with a championship segment from mid-January through April.

"We are excited to announce the addition of water polo programs at Biola University," said Associate Athletic Director Eddie Shepard. "Water Polo is a very popular sport among high school students in our region. We feel we're positioned well to bring in some exceptional student-athletes and provide them with a fantastic collegiate experience."

The PacWest Conference does not currently sponsor water polo, so Biola is considering other conference affiliation options. The Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) and Golden Coast Conference (GCC) are both on the table at this time.

"Adding men's and women's water polo programs is a great fit for the direction of Athletics at Biola University," said Senior Director of Athletics Dr. Bethany Miller. "There is strong student interest that has been shared from within our student body as well as great local high school and community college competition in the region. With our upcoming facility renovations, this is an exciting time to expand our student-athlete population and invest in two new teams."

Azusa Pacific and Concordia Irvine both sponsor women's water polo and compete in the GCC. Fresno Pacific has a women's team that competes in the WWPA. On the men's side - Concordia Irvine and Fresno Pacific both sponsor teams competing in the WWPA.

"Seeing the success that our other PacWest institutions have had with water polo is an encouragement," said Shepard. "We look forward to fielding squads that can compete with them on an annual basis."

Biola plans to hire two full-time head coaches, one for men and one for women, during the Spring of 2020. This will allow for a full year of recruiting and training prior to the start of competition. More information on how to apply will be posted on this website in the coming weeks.

All three divisions within the National Collegiate Athletic Association combine in water polo. This will allow the unique opportunity for Biola to compete not only against its traditional NCAA Division II rivals but also against some of the bigger names in intercollegiate athletics (i.e. USC, UCLA, Stanford).

California, particularly Southern California, is considered a hotbed for water polo. No team from outside of the state of California has ever won the NCAA Water Polo Championship. That's 50 years of California champions on the men's side and 19 years on the women's side.

The addition of men and women's water polo will bring Biola up to 18 varsity sports and around 350 total student-athletes. 

This marks the first time Biola has added an intercollegiate sport in over a decade. President Barry H. Corey announced the news to the Biola campus at a staff and faculty kick-off event on Tuesday, Aug. 27.