College Bass of old is now the new College B.A.S.S., and with that the top angler will come away from the National Championship with a berth in the 2012 Bassmaster Classic.
The series is now being housed under B.A.S.S., the worldwide authority on bass fishing. There will be three College B.A.S.S. shows aired on ESPNU, which reaches 72 million households. Event coverage will be on Bassmaster.com, the most visited fishing website in the world.
The 2011 season will include three Super Regionals, a wildcard event and the National Championship.
The first Super Regional takes place in Montgomery, Ala., on May 20-21. Dates for the North Super Regional, West Super Regional, Western Wildcard and the National Championship will be announced no later than May 10.
In order to be considered eligible for College B.A.S.S., teams must meet these requirements:
Official Organization on Campus;
Minimum of four (4) members per club;
All under the age of 25;
And be a full-time student, based on what each school deems full-time.
Only one boat from each school can compete in the National Championship, and schools have to fish in at least one Super Regional and have one boat place in the top 50 percent. So, if there’s an 80-boat field in the East Super Regional, one boat from a school will need to finish 40thor higher for that school to be eligible for the National Championship. The school will still select which two competitors it sends.
The National Championship is a three-day tournament, with the field cut to five after the second day. The top five schools will fish the final day for the title. The winning team members will stay another night for a fish-off to decide who will compete in the Bassmaster Classic.
Both winning team members will be taken to a select location the next day, put in two boats of the same makes and size and will have a six-hour, head-to-head tournament. The winner will be first College B.A.S.S. angler to earn a Classic bid and will fish in the 2012 Bassmaster Classic in Shreveport-Bossier City, La.
Event details will be posted as soon as they are finalized. Information on how to register for College B.A.S.S. will be posted later this week.
