College bass fishing

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, Boat U.S. Bass Pro Shops College Bass Fishing Series, Carhartt Bassmaster College Bass Fishing Series, and the Fishlife Collegiate Tour.

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, Murray State University, Bethel University, University of Florida, Virginia Tech, University of Georgia, North Carolina State University, Louisiana State University, and the University of Illinois. 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. The University of Delaware Bass Fishing Team was the first collegiate bass fishing team in the state of Delaware.

Official rules and scoring

 * Two fisherman allowed per boat
 * Bass kept must be at least 12 inches in length (depending on the lake)
 * Five bass limit allowed per team at weigh in (largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, spotted bass, are the only species accepted)
 * .25 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

Abu Garcia College Fishing
In 2020, Abu Garcia, a fishing brand manufacturer, assumed title sponsorship of the FLW College Fishing circuit.
 * 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

Abu Garcia College Fishing Championships
Known as FLW College Series before 2020
 * 2010: University of Florida
 * 2011: University of Florida
 * 2012: Kansas State University
 * 2013: University of Louisiana Monroe
 * 2014: University of Minnesota
 * 2015: University of South Carolina
 * 2016: University of South Carolina
 * 2017: Kansas State University
 * 2018: University of Louisiana Monroe
 * 2019: Murray State University
 * 2020: Stephen F. Austin State University

Cabela's Collegiate Bass Fishing Series

 * 2006: North Carolina State University
 * 2007: University of Kansas
 * 2008: Texas A&M
 * 2009: Murray State University
 * 2010: Tarleton State University
 * 2011: University of Arkansas
 * 2012: North Carolina State University
 * 2013: Bethel University
 * 2014: Lamar University
 * 2015: Northern Kentucky University
 * 2016: Auburn University
 * 2017: University of North Alabama
 * 2018: Bethel 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. Without sponsorships, college bass fishing would be a different sport, since most college anglers are financially responsible to provide their own boats, fishing gear, gas money, and travel.