John Vargas, in his first year at the helm of the Stanford men's water polo program, continued the Cardinal's championship tradition by bringing home the team's 10th national title, following a 24-5 season. The Cardinal opened the year with seven consecutive victories, and rolled to a 21-3 regular season record behind the play of Tony Azevedo, who scored a program-record 95 goals to earn his second straight National Player of the Year honor. Despite a shaky end to the MPSF Tournament, in which the Cardinal dropped its final two games to finish fourth, Stanford returned to the NCAA Championship. Riding the play of All-Americans Peter Hudnut, Mike Derse, Jeff Nesmith and Nick Ellis in goal, the Cardinal set up a title-game showdown with rival California and pulled out a 7-6 victory in Los Angeles to claim back-to-back national titles for the fourth time in program history.

Dante Dettamanti couldn't have asked for a better end to his 25-year run as Stanford's head coach. The Cardinal captured the 2001 national title at home to send Dettamanti into retirement as an eight-time champion. Freshman phenom Tony Azevedo, who would earn NCAA Player of the Year and All-America honors, scored a team freshman-record 68 goals, while fellow All-American Nick Ellis anchored the defense from inside the cage. The Cardinal opened up the season with a 17-game winning streak, which was snapped by a 4-3 loss to California in the regular-season finale. But Stanford (22-1), behind another first-team All-American in Peter Hudnut, rebounded to capture the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament title before sweeping the NCAA playoffs at its own Avery Aquatic Center with an 8-4 victory over Massachusetts and an 8-5 triumph over UCLA, in Dettamanti's final game on the Cardinal bench.

Stanford ended a six-year title drought with a 24-6 season that culminated in an 11-9 victory over USC in the national title game in Long Beach, Calif. Paced all year by the play of first-team All-Americans Wolf Wigo and goalie Larry Bercutt, the Cardinal opened the year by winning 20 of its first 23 games. Despite a brief cold spell in mid-November, in which the Cardinal dropped three of its final four regular season games, Stanford clinched the NCAA tournament's top seed, and rebounded with a 16-1 victory in the tournament opener against Navy. Following a 10-8 semifinal win over UC Irvine, the Cardinal faced off against the Trojans in its second straight NCAA final. There, Bercutt stopped six shots on the way to earning tournament co-MVP honors, while Frank Schneider scored Stanford's 11th goal with 47 seconds remaining to seal the victory.

With six seniors and all its top scorers returning, Stanford left a trail of destruction in its wake en route to a 36-0 season and a repeat national title, the sixth in program history. Seven Cardinal players were named All-Americans, including Craig Klass, who earned National Player of the Year honors. Klass and fellow All-American Eric Fischer each scored a school-record 87 goals as the Cardinal outscored its opponents by an average score of 14-5. The Cardinal scored more than 10 goals in the first eight games and pulled off the feat in 32 of the 36 games. By the end of the season, Stanford had won an NCAA-record 45 straight, capped off by a dominant effort at the NCAA Championship, where the Cardinal outscored its opponents, 47-19. In the national championship in Long Beach, Calif., Stanford defeated rival California, 9-6, to complete its second perfect season and second set of back-to-back national titles.

In light of Stanford men's water polo's championship pedigree, three years without a national championship probably felt like an eternity. Runner-up finishes in 1982 and '84 were still fresh on the minds of the Cardinal players entering the 1985 campaign, which helped motivate the team to an 11-0 start. Three consecutive losses, though, would take their toll, but the Cardinal, behind first-team All-Americans David Imbernino (44 goals) and Craig Klass (59), responded by winning 11 of its next 12 to close out the regular season and capture the Pac-10 title. At the NCAA Championships in Long Beach, Calif., the Cardinal cruised past Bucknell and UC Santa Barbara to set up a championship final opposite UC Irvine, one of just four teams to defeat the Cardinal in 1985. The title game did not lack for drama, as the Cardinal pulled even on a Matt Tingler goal with five seconds left in regulation, then went ahead for good on Tingler's second goal of the game, with 47 seconds remaining in overtime, to hang on for the 12-11 victory and the program's fifth national title.

Stanford netted its second straight national title and fourth in six years. Stanford's 31-0 record put it in the record books as just the second team in NCAA history to complete an undefeated season. The explosive Cardinal offense outscored its opponents by an astounding 411-165 margin, as All-America selections and NCAA Championship co-MVPs James Bergeron and Jody Campbell scored 82 and 71 goals, respectively. Chris Kelsey and Alan Mouchawar were repeat All-Americans, and combined to score 97 goals, while Vince Vannelli earned All-America honors for his play in the cage. Stanford would plow through its schedule, only playing one game that was decided by two goals. at the NCAA Championship, Stanford set a record for most goals scored in a title game in the 17-6 victory over Long Beach State in Long Beach, Calif.

Stanford's run to the 1980 NCAA men's water polo title marked a re-ascension of sorts for the Cardinal, as the team brought home not only its third national championship but also re-claimed the Pac-10 crown after coming up short in 1979. Six Cardinal standouts earned All-America honors in 1980, as Stanford posted a 28-2-1 record. All-America goalie John Gansel anchored the defense in his second national championship campaign, while in the hole All-American Jody Campbell led the offense with 53 goals. Fellow All-Americans Alan Mouchawar (45 goals), James Bergeson (35 goals in 20 games) and Chris Kelsey (32) added firepower to Stanford's potent offense, which outscored opponents 47-17 at the NCAA Championships in Long Beach, Calif. There, Kelsey's hat trick helped put Stanford over the top once more as the Cardinal downed California, 8-6, for its third national title in five years.

Two years after capturing its first NCAA title, Stanford turned the trick a second time. Led by 40-goal scorers and All-Americans Robby Arnold and Doug Burke, and All-America goalie John Gansel, the Cardinal opened the season unbeaten over its first 24 games, the only blemish being a 10-10 draw against California in the NorCal Tournament title game. The Golden Bears would prove to be the Cardinal's main threat in the chase for the championship, as California would end up dealing Stanford its first loss of the season, 11-9 in the regular-season finale in Berkeley. The teams would meet one final time in the NCAA championship game, which took three overtime periods before the Cardinal claimed a 7-6 victory in Long Beach, Calif.,  to cap a 26-1-1 season.

Stanford's path to the first of its 10 NCAA titles did not get off to a successful start, dropping its opener to visiting UC Irvine, 8-7, and the NorCal Open title game to Pac-8 rival California, 4-3, to start the year with a 4-2 record. But that slow start was quickly put in the rear-view mirror as Stanford, behind the play of All-Americans Doug Burke, Chris Dorst, Rick Johannsen and Drew McDonald, reeled off 16 consecutive victories to end the season and capture the title. The Cardinal cruised to a 6-0 conference record and the Pac-8 title before entering the NCAA tournament in Long Beach, Calif. There, Stanford showed its resolve as the Cardinal, behind the play of NCAA Championship MVP Dorst in the cage, claimed three straight one-goal victories to claim the crown, including a 13-12 victory over UCLA in the final, to complete a 20-2 season.

Stanford won its first national championship in water polo after compiling a 20-2 record in 1963. Just three years after Jim Gaughran took over the program, the Indians relied on future U.S. Olympian George Stransky and NCAA champion swimmer Marty Hull. Though no national tournament decided the No. 1 team, the coach's poll decided what most coaches knew all season. Stanford was the best there was.