Supriya Ghosh (Editor)

College bass fishing

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College bass fishing is competitive bass fishing that is played by teams from universities and colleges. The NCAA is not involved in college bass fishing, allowing teams to use sponsorships to their advantage and keep their winnings. College bass fishing consists of mostly club teams, but there are a select few varsity bass fishing programs. There are an estimated 610 college bass fishing teams in the United States. The major college bass fishing tournament series are the FLW Outdoors College Series, Carhartt Bassmaster College Bass Fishing Series,[Cabela's]] Collegiate Bass Fishing Series, and The Fishlife Collegiate Tour

Contents

History

The first known college bass fishing tournament took place at Lake Monroe, Indiana on April 18, 1992 between Purdue University and Indiana University. Purdue won the tournament by three pounds. Some of the historically most successful college bass fishing teams are Auburn University, Bethel University, University of Florida, Virginia Tech, University of Georgia, North Carolina State University, and Louisiana State University. College bass fishing is a growing college sport and in recent years, some schools have even started varsity programs, such as Adrian College in Michigan and Campbellsville University in Kentucky. These schools are both the first varsity college bass fishing programs in their state.

Official rules and scoring

  • Two fisherman allowed per boat
  • Bass kept must be at least 12 inches in length
  • Five bass limit allowed per team at weigh in (largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, spotted bass, and redeye bass are the only species accepted)
  • Four ounces deducted for each dead bass weighed in
  • One pound deducted for each short bass weighed in
  • One pound deducted for every minute late after weigh-in deadline time
  • Greatest overall weight of bass limit wins the event

    • FLW College Series

  • Central Division
  • Northern Division
  • Southeastern Division
  • Southern Division
  • Western Division
  • Open
  • Championship

    • Carhartt Bassmaster College Series

  • Southern Regional
  • Central Regional
  • Eastern Regional
  • Western Regional
  • Midwestern Regional
  • Wild Card

    • Cabela's Collegiate Bass Fishing Series

  • Collegiate Big Bass Bash
  • Collegiate Bass Fishing Open
  • Collegiate Bass Fishing Shootout
  • Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship

    • FLW College Series Championships

  • 2014: University of Minnesota
  • 2013: University of Louisiana Monroe
  • 2012: Kansas State University
  • 2011: University of Florida
  • 2010: University of Florida

    • Cabela's Collegiate Bass Fishing Series

  • 2014: Lamar University
  • 2013: Bethel University
  • 2012: North Carolina State University
  • 2011: University of Arkansas
  • 2010: Tarleton State University
  • 2009: Murray State University
  • 2008: Texas A&M
  • 2007: Kansas University

    • The Fishlife Collegiate Tour

    2013: Alabama 2014: Alabama/Birmingham Southern

    Lack of NCAA involvement

    The NCAA is not involved in college bass fishing, which allows teams to use sponsorships to their advantage. Sponsorships allow bass fishermen to represent and advertise a company, receiving gear, publicity, and sometimes money in return. Also, lack of NCAA involvement in college bass fishing allows college bass fishermen to win money. This subject is very controversial, as college bass fishing is one of only a couple of collegiate sports where college athletes can actually win money (Cycling for example). However, if the NCAA got involved with college bass fishing, that would be the end of not only college fishermen being eligible to win money but also the end of sponsorships. Sponsorships mean the world to bass fishermen, whether at the collegiate or professional level. Without sponsorships, bass fishing would be a different sport.

    References

    College bass fishing Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA