The UI Water Polo Club, now known as the Iowa Water Polo Team, began in 1975 as an optional preseason activity for male varsity swimmers, plus former high school and college water polo players who were not varsity swimmers. Men's swimming coach Glenn Patton, in his first year at the UI, ran the practices. In 1976, a separate water polo coach, Bob Oppliger, was appointed by Patton. Oppliger served in that capacity until he finished his graduate studies a few years later, and then handed the responsibilities over to Sue Grimston, a former Australian player from Queensland, had a wealth of international experience. Immediately after Sue completed her graduate studies in exercise physiology at the UI, Mike Hurley, a fifth-year senior who had finished his swimming eligibility. Hurley served as Iowa's first player/coach, a position many men have filled since.

Until the early 1980s, the team had no women and very few inexperienced players. Games against other all-male collegiate teams took place in the autumn. The was no spring season. When Hurley left the UI in 1982, after a stint as an assistant swimming coach, the organization nearly fell apart because the team ceased to be under the auspices of Men's Swimming. When that happened, the travel expenses had to be paid by the players.

Subsequently, attempts were made by different players to get the sport restarted, none with great success. Not until the arrival of Jim Love, a Cedar Rapids resident and former Yale University water polo coach, did things REALLY get going again. Love organized a coed team and welcomed novices. He built a club team that, at times, had more than 30 players at practice. In 1987, Love moved back to his native California and player Rick Jones stepped up to coach the group.

During the 1990s, the club was always coached by an elected player. In fact, there hasn't been a non-playing coach for the past decade. At present, the Iowa Water Polo Team is still coached by one or two veteran players. There are roughly equal numbers of men and women, and there are indeed some novices. At the UI, we have a dedicated team of students who regularly participate in intercollegiate games and tournaments, during the fall semester and the spring semester.

-John Downer, UI Water Polo Team Historian

In 1997, the Water Polo Team suddenly graduated almost the entire membership. This left virtually no one in charge to run the club, let alone play for the team. However, UI swimmer and water polo enthusiast Jeff Hupfer decided not to continue swimming at the varsity level. This is very fortunate for the Water Polo Team, for he was able to re-sign the club charter and spend his time rebuilding the club from literally two members (including the aforementioned John Downer) to the over twenty the team currently enjoys. In the Spring of 1999, the team hosted the 1st Annual Hawkeye Invitational.

In 1999, the Iowa Water Polo Team joined the Collegiate Water Polo Association, in the Midwestern Great Plains Division. Hoping for a successful entry, the team got off to a rough start at regionals and ended up finishing with a losing record in the conference. However, during the team's last tournament of 1999, in Ames Iowa (Iowa State Invitational), the team was able to upset some major rivals. This triumph led the team into the 2nd Annual Hawkeye Invitational in April 2000, where they finished with an undefeated record (4-0).

-Craig Dietrich, 1999 Vice President

2000 brought about many changes to the water polo club. Under the leadership of former president Matt Henry, the number of interested students increased dramatically and soon there were enough players to separate into a men's team and a women's team. Tashia Welling took over the leadership of the women's squad. Along with the increasing number of students, new leadership, and a increasing skill level, the team's decided it was time to return to the Big Ten Conference.

Today, both teams are still apart of the Big Ten conference and are both improving with every year. In 2003 senior president Matt Henry resigned and the team elected Josh Radke as their new leader. During the 2003 Big Ten season, with the help of new player coach Erik Barnhill, the men's team had their best season to date, posting a 16-4 mark and finishing 7th place at Big Ten championships.

Both teams are very focused on improving, along with recruiting more students to join the club.

-Mike Brassil, 02-04 Vice President