DIVISION II WOMEN'S NATIONAL INTERCOLLEGIATE CHAMPIONSHIP
TOURNAMENT HISTORY
The Division II Women’s National Intercollegiate Championship tournament is part of the United States Polo Association's Intercollegiate/Interscholastic (I/I) polo program, which is dedicated to growing the sport by providing maximum exposure, recruiting collegiate and scholastic institutions, coordinating activities and organizing competition. Supporting this mission, the I/I program has experienced tremendous growth in recent years.
Developed from a targeted initiative to grow collegiate polo, the USPA and I/I leadership groups divided the intercollegiate system into Division I and Division II polo, leading to an increase in the number of emerging teams competing in spring tournaments and the number of competitive games at every level.
Division assignments are based on the strength of teams as determined by rosters, a team’s regular season scores and the strength of their schedule. In addition, women’s and men’s teams from the same school are not required to play in the same division, allowing teams to participate at an appropriate level. Teams are able to move back and forth between the divisions from year to year to accommodate for student matriculation and annual roster changes.
First played in 2022, the Division II Women's National Intercollegiate Championship has awarded a new victor each year, with the University of Connecticut claiming the inaugural title, followed by California Polytechnic State University (2023) and most recently, Colorado State University (2024).
In 2024, Central Regional winners Colorado State University (Sara Eggenberger, Elyse Warren, Lily Nelson, Willow Longerbeam) met Western Regional victors Grossmont College (Abigail Purdy, Kylie Kufahl, Zoey Newton) at Central Coast Polo Club in Los Osos, California. An intense match, two standout chukkers for Colorado State University (CSU) in the second and fourth made the difference to clench the team’s first Women’s National Intercollegiate Championship, 12-8. Read article here.
Relocating to the East Coast and hosted by Cornell Polo Club in Ithaca, New York, reigning champions Colorado State University (Central Region) will defend its title alongside Cornell University (Northeastern Region), University of California Davis (Western Region), University of Kentucky (Southeastern Region), University of New Hampshire (At-Large Selection), each vying for its first Division II Women's National Intercollegiate Championship title.
Photo: 2024 Division II Women's National Intercollegiate Championship Winner: Colorado State University - Elyse Warren, Sara Eggenberger, Willow Longerbeam, Lily Nelson, pictured with Coaches Stephen Coleman and Andrew Wildermuth. ©Kaile Roos
