2024 Division III Eastern Championship Schedule Set for October 19-20 at Johns Hopkins University
2024 Division III Eastern Championship Schedule
BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — The 2024 Division III Eastern Championship will occur on Saturday-Sunday, October 19-29 at Johns Hopkins University’s Newton White Athletic Center in Baltimore, Md.
The Division III Eastern Championship will pit the host Blue Jays against defending Division III Eastern Champion the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Connecticut College. In addition, games pitting the Blue Jays, Engineers and Camels versus Austin College and Washington & Jefferson College of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF)-East will occur along with a Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) contest matching Johns Hopkins against George Washington University.
Fellow MPSF Division III institutions Wheaton College and Augustana College declined invitations to attend the preeminent meeting of Division III men’s water polo programs on the East Coast.
For MIT, Johns Hopkins and Connecticut, the result of the weekend has bearing on their postseason aspirations as the top finishing squad among the trio earns a berth to the 2024 USA Water Polo Division III Championship on Saturday-Sunday, December 7-8 at a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) institution. The USA Division III Championship field is comprised of the top two finishing teams at the SCIAC Championship, the victor of the Division III Eastern Championship and the top finishing Division III school at the MPSF Championship.
Competition begins at 11:00 a.m. Eastern on Saturday, October 19, with a rematch of the 2023 Division III Eastern title tilt claimed by then host MIT by a 12-8 score versus Johns Hopkins in Cambridge, Mass., on October 22. Action continues at 12:15 p.m. as Austin tangles with Connecticut prior to MIT and Washington & Jefferson meeting at 1:30 p.m. The opening day of competition concludes with Johns Hopkins-vs-Austin (2:45 p.m.) and Washington & Jefferson-vs.-Connecticut (4:00 p.m.).
On Sunday, October 20, MIT concludes its weekend at 10:00 a.m. against Connecticut prior to Johns Hopkins defending the Newton Center from Division I foe George Washington University in a Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) game at Noon before mixing it up with Connecticut at 2:00 p.m.
Streaming coverage is pending and could be available for fans unable to make the trip to Charm City.
In the history of the Division III Eastern tournament, Hopkins holds 20 Division III crowns (1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023) in 30 title games with losses in 1991, 1992, 1993, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2023. Hopkins did not compete in two Division III Championships as the Blue Jays’ missed the championship game in 2007 and 2016 by not attending the event.
MIT is a 10-time champion (1991, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2007, 2010, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2023) as the duo of the Blue Jays and Engineers rate as the only active Division III programs to hold a Division III Eastern crown. Overall, former varsity team Washington & Lee University defeated Johns Hopkins in 1992 and 1993 in the second and third Division III tournaments for the only titles not held by either the Blue Jays or Engineers.
